


Family Genetics

by KeJae



Series: Family Series [1]
Category: Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:41:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5944054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeJae/pseuds/KeJae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A random situation causes Peter and Neal to get tested genetic deep. When you look into genetics, what you find will sometimes surprise you. (Prequel to Family Bonding).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blindsided

** **

*******

Peter couldn’t believe it!

Neal George Caffrey, the internationally known White Collar con, thief, and forger reformed into a Consulting Informant… is his brother?

How was that possible? Was Neal born a Burke or was he born a Caffrey? Or, were they both adopted and neither of them knew who they really were? Well they obviously didn’t know all of who they were because they were brothers and neither of them knew that… right? Peter couldn’t remember his parents ever telling him that he was adopted or that he had a brother. Did Neal ever know, if he did, why didn’t he say anything?

The questions kept rolling around in Peter’s brain which kept him glued to his chair. His doctor had left long ago and Peter was still sitting there lost in his thought as he blankly stared at the papers in his hands.

Eventually, the questions settled into an arrangement of the most important ones which freed Peter from the initial shock. Did Neal know, what had happened to separate them, and what was he supposed to do now?

He decided that the best place to look first was at the papers clutched in his hands. These were the hospital’s results to prove that Neal and he were brothers. Reading through them, he discovered that most of the content was scientific gibberish, but he understood the basics of the charts and the results summary. Basically, their genetics proved them to have matches for the same biological maternal and paternal markers.

Continuing to struggle with the information, Peter decided to close down his office at work and call it a day. Perhaps talking to Elizabeth and some digging through his personal records at home would help him come to a better understanding?

Satisfied with his plan, Peter went back to work and locked up early. When his office was closed down for the night he ducked into Hughes’ office. “I got the results today… they were positive matches for maternal and paternal markers so I am going to go home and check some things out. Do you mind if I wait to fill you in on everything until tomorrow?”

Furrowing his brows, Hughes was surprised to hear the news despite having known the possibility of the outcome. “Go ahead. I’ll start the paperwork tonight. How are you doing with the news?”

“I’m trying to wrap my head around it now that we’re talking facts instead of slight possibilities. Neal has his secrets, tendency to get himself into trouble, and now I am going to have even more invested in him… I just hope that things work out well.” It wasn’t like he didn’t like Neal. The man was his partner and quickly becoming his closest friend after all. There were just a lot of things that he didn’t know about Neal.

With the work front nearly taken care of, he ignored the team’s interested glances as he left the office. Passing Neal’s empty desk by the doors, he couldn’t even think about talking to him yet. Once he knew more and had a plan of how to bring the topic up, then it would be time to talk to his partner turned brother.

On the drive home, he did the last work related detail from the privacy of his car. He was relieved when the Marshal informed him that Neal’s location read him as being at home. It didn’t matter if Neal was playing high stakes Monopoly with June or reminiscing with Mozzie, as long as he stayed home and out of trouble.

*******

Elizabeth was intimately familiar with her husband’s routine when he arrived home from work, so she couldn’t help but notice how quiet he was. Usually, he would hang up his jacket, greet Satchmo and perhaps play a moment, and then he would call for her. This time, he came through the door, there was the rustling of him hanging up his things, and then he went upstairs without saying a word to her or the dog. Something was wrong…

Putting dinner preparations aside, she decided to investigate. Walking up stairs, she noticed that the noise was coming from up in the attic. All they kept up there was old storage… including Peter’s box of information on Neal. Had Neal done something again?

“Peter?” The best way to penetrate this quiet mystery was to start a conversation. If she asked the right questions she might be able to garner some good clues, if not the whole story. When there wasn’t any answer, she tried again. “What’s wrong honey?”

“I’ll be down shortly El. Something came up today and I’m trying to find some answers.” He replied enigmatically.

Since it probably had something to do with Neal, she went back down to finish dinner and hoped that Peter would be ready to fill her in while they ate.

Once the food was ready, she went back to see if Peter was ready to come down yet. “Peter, dinner is done. Are you about ready to come down?”

At first he was silent like he didn’t even hear her. Then he seemed to catch up and replied. “Huh… okay, yeah. Could you help me haul these boxes down real quick?”

Obviously he was distracted. Whatever had occurred was upsetting him so she was certain that he would be talking about it soon. Climbing up the short ladder, she looked around to see him moving a final box to create a small stack by the entrance.

“Come on up El. I figured that I could climb the ladder and you could pass me the boxes.”

“Okay.” He still wasn’t too conversational, but at least she could glance at the box labels as she waited for him to be ready for the next one.

After giving her a hand to help her make the climb up and into the attic, Peter kept a hold of her hand to pull her into a quick kiss and a hug.

She hadn’t expected that. As she stood there in his embrace, he was simply breathing while absorbing strength from having her with him. Something had hurt him and he needed her comfort, so she put her theorizing aside for the moment and simply focused on providing it. “I don’t know what happened or what is wrong, but it is going to be okay Peter. We’ll tackle this together.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued to stroke his hair and held him close.

When a few moments had passed, he sighed and kissed her again. “Let’s get these downstairs where there is better light for us to go through them after dinner.”

While he moved into position on the ladder, she grabbed the first box and read its label. ‘Peter’s baby book and photo albums.’ What did ‘something cam up today’ and his baby book have in common? Then reading the second one, she noticed that it was the expected ‘Neal’ box containing everything that Peter personally knew about the man. Elizabeth was really puzzled as to what the situation could be.

Once the boxes were downstairs and the attic was closed up again, they settled in to eat. It was a silent affair, but the lack of conversation meant that they didn’t take long to complete their meal.

With the dishes cleared, Peter guided her to sit down in front of the boxes on the coffee table. Turning to her, she knew that he was about to fill her in on the big mystery.

“Thanks for being patient. There isn’t anything to be particularly concerned about, but this is going to change a lot of things.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “I always thought that maybe Neal was taking the coward’s way out when he said that he ran away after learning that his father was a dirty cop instead of the hero he had been raised to believe in. Now, I think that I understand what it feels like to have the very foundations of your life broken, shaken, and thrown up in the air. What scares me most is the unknown factor here, because I have found that there are secrets that my parents kept from me too. Suddenly, I feel cowardly and am left wondering if this is what Neal felt like. If so, I can’t blame Neal for wanting to hide so much anymore.”

While he stared at the two boxes and tried to figure out how to approach the rest of the topic, she reached out and took his hand.

Looking down at their intertwined hands, he found the place to start. “Do you remember when the doctors did those test to see why Neal and I survived that assault?”

She recalled the many test that Neal and Peter had been put through, “Yes, what about them?”

Clearing his throat, Peter appeared to be trying to build up the courage to reach the heart of the issue. “One of the tests was done because it is a rare genetic flaw that allowed us to survive. A flaw that is usually shared by close relations… that Neal and I both share.”

With widening eyes, she had a feeling where this was going.

Nodding to confirm her thoughts, Peter continued. “We were tested to see if we could possibly be related. I didn’t expect it, but… Neal is my little brother.” Some of the weight seemed to ease off of his shoulders by sharing the burden.

Thinking through the many things that that implied, Elizabeth started into a few basic questions. “Does Neal know?”

Shrugging, Peter didn’t have much of an answer. “I don’t know. My doctor called me this morning and asked to meet him at his office this afternoon. When he finished telling me the information, I went back to the office and came home. Neal was already gone and his tracking data says that he is at home.”

Moving on to the next questions, “Okay, do you know if you’re full brothers? Or who your parents are?”

Rubbing his eyes, Peter looked tired and stressed. “We are full brothers. That means that I am either adopted and my parents never told me, or worse… I missed nine months and the entire existence of the little brother I always wanted…” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “Hopefully one of these boxes will help to settle the facts one way or another.”

She was almost done. “Are you going to talk to Neal and your parents?”

Shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair, Peter remained leaned over with his elbows on his knees. “I hope to be ready to talk to Neal tomorrow on the way into work. As for my parents… I don’t know when I might be ready for that conversation. Either way, they kept huge parts of my life from me, and I don’t know how to feel about that.”

Seeing his distress, Elizabeth leaned over and pulled him into a hug. For a few minutes, they simply sat there and relished in their embrace. Then Elizabeth pulled back and took the lead by pulling out Peter’s baby book.

Sliding closer, Peter started to read over her shoulder.

The first thing that they noticed was that the book started with Peter’s mom writing about discovering that she was pregnant. From there, it detailed about Peter’s father being told, his reaction, and the process of the couple preparing for their first born. Then they reached his birth and transitioned into the firsts. His first laugh, words, steps, and so on. Finally, they reached his birth certificate, and it showed that Peter was indeed a Burke, which confirmed the rest of the information.

That meant that Peter’s parents had had another son. How could he have missed that? Why didn’t they tell him? What was Neal’s real name, and why didn’t they keep him?

*******

Neal had always known that his life wasn’t normal. He had noticed things growing up, so he knew something was off. Then he learned what and why when Ellen told him the truth.

What he hadn’t expected, was for his life, down to his very identity, to be overturned so many times. Then again, who would? Now he was getting to go through that all over again.

His doctor had called him that morning to schedule an appointment. He had intentionally put it off for as long as possible so that he could leave work early for the meeting without leaving too early to cause questions at work.

Arriving at the doctor’s office, he took a seat as directed and listened to the doctor. The man went through the forms and broke down what he was saying to layman’s terms. In short, Peter was his older brother.

That meant that Neal’s parents had at least one more secret.

Thinking through his questions, Neal quickly had three that he needed to know that answers to. Did that mean that Peter was the son of his parents, or was he adopted? Did Peter know about him? He had never mentioned having a younger brother before. And, what would Peter think?

The last question was what had Neal the most nervous. Peter liked him well enough as a consultant and friend, but what would he think about having him as a brother?

After the meeting was finished, Neal thanked the doctor, shook his hand, and headed home.

Neal couldn’t play his character and deal with another round of discovering that everything he knew was a lie. So, instead of hanging around the apartment, he arranged for a run. After a quick change into running clothes, he set up the tracking system to display him as alternating between restless pacing and painting. Then he fled to Central Park.

He was happy to know that Peter was actually his brother. The agent was honest, good at his job, genuinely had his best interest at heart, but most importantly, he could trust the man behind the badge. His concern with the revelation was how it would change their relationship. Would Peter accept a criminal relation, or would he distance himself from Neal? Running the paths provided a great place for him to work his emotions through while giving him time to come to terms with Peter being his brother.

Finishing his circuit and heading back to his apartment, he thought about what had transpired to begin all of this.

_The investment company was taking people’s money and making bad investments that squandered their client’s accounts. When a client chose to do further digging, they discovered that their money had not been invested, but was rather disappearing. Where did it go, and what were they really doing? After the client turned the information in to the FBI, Neal was sent under cover to investigate._

_It didn’t take him long to discover that the money was being funneled into the black market where it disappeared. They investigated, but were unable to find a trace of where the money was going. With no further leads to follow, the FBI decided to make an arrest._

_Once Neal arranged to have all of the players in one place at the same time, Peter and the takedown team made entry._

_While the agents were sorting through the arrests, a man dressed in black raced through the crowd. He had a knife in hand and made small cuts on Peter’s and Neal’s arms. As he made his escape, several agents went after him on foot while Jones and Diana took their teammates to the hospital._

_The blade was coated in poison and the men were reacting to it._

_When Peter and Neal survived against all of the odds, the doctors began intensive testing to discover how they survived the death sentence. Only the doctors thought that the reason for their survivals could reach as deep as their genetics, and no one expected what they found._

Back at his apartment, Neal decided that it was time to update the general on his change in circumstances.


	2. Revealing Conversations

*******

Neal cleaned up and settled in on the couch. Turning on his TV, he was faced with the general as she looked over some file or another. She appeared to be working at home because she was in relaxing attire instead of her usual uniform.

“What is it agent Larkin?” She gave him her sternest look.

“You remember the assault at the bust recently?” At her nod, he continued. “The doctors were very interested in why Peter and I survived an un-survivable poison so they did some intensive testing. I was given the results today and it turns out that something isn’t right in my past.”

Then he had her full attention. “What do you mean that ‘something isn’t right in your past?’”

“Agent Peter Burke is my full biological brother and I have DNA proof that it isn’t a trick or an attack. The problem is that I didn’t know I had a brother. So, either he is another secret my mom kept, or I am not who I think I am.” He tried to hide his stress, but the general had worked with him for a long time.

She didn’t like the situation at all. “I see. Expect Chuck and the team to arrive tomorrow, just in case someone tries to take advantage of the situation.” Then she pulled up his pre Wit-sec files. “You have sealed adoption records. It looks like I have some more digging into your past to do this evening. Is that all?”

“Not quite… How is it to proceed with my family, because apparently I am a Burke?” That was the biggest question for the general. Would she let him tell Peter something?

“I’ll have the panel discus that. Until further notice, things are to proceed like normal.” With that, she was gone, and the screen went black.

Sitting back on the couch, he felt relieved and stressed. It had been years since he had last gotten to talk to Chuck and he had never been able to share his history with him, so this was going to be quite the reunion with his oldest friend. Perhaps Chuck would be willing to be his support while he discovered why his parents gave him up, why his brother didn’t seem to know of his existence, what he is going to be able to share with them, and how they are going to react to his presence as a family member. Thinking about everything was already giving him a head ache, so this was going to be a long night…

There wasn’t going to be much sleep, so he decided to pull out his paints and do one of those rare originals in order to work out some emotions.

*******

Once Peter had realized that he wasn’t adopted and that his parents had hid his little brother’s existence from him, his curiosity got the better of him. Looking at the clock, he realized that it wasn’t too late to call his parents for an explanation.

While Peter dialed the number, Elizabeth continued to flip through pictures and checked out his baby information as she remained by his side for support if he needed it.

Peter was grateful for her presence. He was trying to figure out how to broach the topic with his parents while the phone continued to ring in his ear. When it reached the third ring it was about to go to voicemail when he heard it picked up and a familiar voice answered.

“Hello Peter! Your mother was just thinking about calling you.” He sounded like he was in a good mood and Peter hated to ruin that, but he needed to know.

“Hi dad. Actually… I need to talk to both of you. It’s important.” He tried to make his voice sound lighter, but it was impossible to keep the uncertainty out.

‘Hey honey… grab the other phone, Peter needs to talk to us’ was heard in the background. Back on the line “Peter… what’s wrong?”

Avoiding answering, Peter tried to postpone until his mother got on the phone. “We should probably wait until mom is on the line…”

“Peter? What do you need to talk to us about?” His mother sounded concerned as expected.

Despite his fear, Peter decided to dive in. “I don’t know how to discuss this, but I guess I should give you the back story to the questions that I have for you.”

Sounding like they were uncertain where things would go, his parents gave him the go ahead to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Peter started from the beginning. “… So they tested us down to our genetics to see if they could find the answer. He is my brother and I have DNA proof of that. How could you hide something like that from me?” His voice was full of emotions, but he was mostly sad and hurt with a serious touch of anger. Mentally, he took a step back and gave his parents time to collect themselves.

They gasped in surprise. It had been thirty years since they had given their son up for adoption and they had not expected it to come up, especially not this way. “Oh Peter.” His mom started to cry and his father had to comfort her while trying to explain the situation. “Peter... I’m sorry that you had to learn about Aaron this way. We should have told you, but we didn’t even know if he was going to survive.”

That wasn’t what he expected. Peter felt his heart ache even though he didn’t know what was coming. “What do you mean, what happened?”

It was his father’s turn to tell a story and, even though his voice shook with emotion, he forced himself through it. “We wanted you to focus on your school and baseball practice so we started by hiding our financial issues from you. I was laid off of work when another company bought my employer out and I was having difficulty finding a new job. Then your mother told me that she was pregnant again and we were planning on telling you that weekend. She got sick, and we postponed the celebration until she was feeling better...”

Peter was remembering, but he wanted to hear from his parent’s perspective.

“While she continued to get worse, we moved you to stay with your aunt and uncle. When she was placed in the hospital, the doctor didn’t want you to be around her because you were a minor and not allowed beyond the waiting room. As her health declined, we feared for both of them and the doctor didn’t know if they would survive or not. After a few months, we found out why she was getting sick and the doctor was able to turn her health around, but he feared that we were too late for your brother. Devastated, we hoped that maybe the doctor would be wrong… he had survived her illness, so maybe he would continue to pull through. Once she was strong enough, she was moved back home, but she had strict orders from the doctor… so we felt that it was still best for you to stay where you were. Finally, your brother was born. He had problems though, he wasn’t strong enough to leave the hospital and he needed care that we couldn’t afford to provide.” He reached a point where his emotions got the better of him as he relived the worst days of his life.

Having cried out some of those emotions, Peter’s mom took over. “The hospital suggested putting him up for adoption in the hopes of a family taking him in that could pay for his health care. With so many hospital bills and no way to pay them… we didn’t know what else to do. Fortunately, a couple from DC was willing to adopt him. We made all of the arrangements and they paid for his medical bills. When the day came for them to pick him up…” She was overcome with her emotions again for a moment. “We told him goodbye, that we loved him, and that we hoped life would be good for him… it was the last time that we saw him because his records were going to be sealed like we never existed. They wanted him to truly be their son and we couldn’t complain when they were giving him the life that we couldn’t.”

While his parents regained their composure, Peter took a few moments to think before replying. His parents didn’t tell him because they didn’t know if he would live, and then they couldn’t because the adoption meant that he would never see him. It also meant that Neal was getting quite the surprise on his end too since his parents didn’t want to acknowledge the existence of his birth parents. “I don’t know what to say. A part of me wishes that I could have known because I have wanted a little brother for as long as I can remember, but then part of me is glad that I didn’t have to worry about him for the last thirty years.”

For several moments, everyone was silent. There were a lot of emotions in the air so each person stepped back to regain their composure before continuing.

“Peter… are you still there?” His parents were concerned about his reaction and he didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah, I’m still here. It’s just a lot to take in and I never expected anything like this to happen. I just don’t know what to say or think at the moment.” Then he remembered what his parents had referred to Neal as. “Hey, you called him Aaron. What is his name?”

It was like there was a mutual sigh of relief on the other end. “Aaron Micah Burke, we named him after your grandfathers. Did his parents change his name?”

Sighing again, Peter felt this wasn’t going to be good. “I don’t know. It took me three years to catch him on bond forgery via a worldwide chase… which means that I put my own little brother in prison without knowing it. Then he proposed working with me as a consulting informant, and I eventually decided to take him on, so we work together nearly every day. We’ve had a lot of conversations during stakeouts, the rides to and from work, and so on… but he isn’t very talkative about his past. About the only thing that I have really been able to get out of him is that his adopted dad became a dirty cop and his mother lied to him about it his whole childhood. Then at eighteen he ran away and became a criminal on the streets himself. Beyond that, I have cases that we suspect him in, alleged stories of his activities, and the knowledge of a few criminal friends. Really, I don’t know much of anything about him beyond what I learned to catch him.”

His parents didn’t like that. “Do you have any guess as to what might make him run away?”

That was something that Peter had a theory on, but there was more to it that had him worried. “I have a theory. He is very touchy on the subject of fathers and he never speaks of his mother, so my theory is that he ran away after finding that his father wasn’t who he thought and that his mother had lied to him. What worries me, is the theories that I have had pertaining to his father being a dirty cop.”

Taking sharp breaths, his parents were hurt. They had lied to Peter by hiding the very existence of his brother, so they felt like he had unintentionally shoved that in their faces. It was something that they had felt guilty about for thirty years so they wouldn’t blame him if he did hold it against them, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Then to learn that their other son had been treated so badly didn’t help them. Did they fail both of their sons?

After a few moments, they still hadn’t said anything and Peter worried about their reactions. “Mom… dad?”

“We’re still here son, but we can’t help but compare ourselves to them. After all, we didn’t tell you about your brother, so we lied to you for thirty years. Then we also adopted him out to people who hurt him so bad that he turned to crime? Our actions have hurt both of you!” His father was very upset.

“I’m not going to say that I’m happy with you keeping him secret from me… but I see why you did it. If you had told me then I would have been worried about him for thirty years and probably would have been looking for him around every corner. Instead, he got to be a surprise… which still hurts, but perhaps it is easier to deal with the worst of it at once and then be able to move on. As for his adopted parents, you gave him to people who were willing to save his life, so how could you know what was going to come later?” He couldn’t hold it against his parents, despite being upset with them.

Relieved, his parents knew that they still had to re-earn his trust, but at least he wasn’t going to hold it against them. Moving on to the next concern, they back tracked to what Peter had mentioned. “What do you mean that you’re worried about his father being a dirty cop?” His mother had picked up on that and wanted to know what he meant.

“When a cop is dirty, it can lead to a lot of things. Sometimes the other cops shun the family, while a few might even feel the need to take action against them. Then there is the possibility of other dirty cops which adds a different element of danger. Finally, there could be criminals involved because groups like the mob often take advantage of dirty cops. That could have implications in a lot of directions from Neal being shamed to his life being in danger which could have merited Wit-sec.” He feared what implications Neal could have endured.

“Could any of that have affected his choices in what to do with his life?” They were trying to understand their son as best they could.

“From what I have been able to gather, he doesn’t remember his father so, whatever happened, it happened when he was very young. Then, based off of his comments on his mother lying to him and other things that I have gathered, I’m pretty sure he has seen some rough times and that his childhood wasn’t as great as he would like me to believe. When he turned eighteen his world was flipped around as he learned the truth. Could all of that affect his choices? Yeah, he believes himself to be his father’s son, so it is possible that he thinks he is of no more value than being a lying criminal. He is very touchy on the subject of family, but maybe he will be willing to open up and give me some answers now that we are brothers…” Since Peter didn’t know how many things Neal was lied to about or how prepared he might be learn all of this, virtually anything was possible with him.

Now it was his parents turn to sit back to absorb the information while they endeavored to come up with how to handle it.

After a few moments, Peter decided to ask them if they were okay.

“No son, we’re not. We always hoped that they would take good care of him and, maybe if we were very lucky, we just might get to see him again someday. Now you tell us that he probably had a childhood so bad that he ran away into crime? While we are happy to hear that we might get to see our boys together for the first time, we are also afraid of how things could turn out…” Both his parents were able to talk, but they both had emotional shakes to their voices.

When she didn’t define the rest of her concerns, Peter inquired further. “How what could turn out mom?”

His mom answered. “How he’ll react to knowing that we are his parents. Will he hate us for giving him up?”

Peter’s heart continued to ache. Emotions were not his area of expertise but, when his family and friends were hurting, he tried to overcome that barrier. “I’m sure he’ll come to love you as much as I do… but he may need some time.”

“We hope so son, and we’ll give him all of the time he needs.” They had hope, which was all that they could ask for at the moment.

After a few moments of awkward silence, they decided to move on to a lighter topic. “Tell us more about him, son. You said that you work with him nearly every day, what is he like?”

They settled in while Peter told stories from the office and Elizabeth put in her stories as well. Between them, they kept the conversation going until it was time to settle into bed for the night.

Telling his parents good night, Peter told them again how he didn’t hold their actions against them and that he was sure Neal wouldn’t either, once he knew the full story.

Relieved again, his parents told him good night and asked to be kept up to date on what was going on.

Settling into bed for the night, Peter couldn’t help but think that his whole life had changed. In one day, he went from an only child to discovering that his parents had hid his little brother from him. What more discoveries would tomorrow bring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, leaving kudos, following/bookmarking, and choosing to favorite :D


	3. Back to the office

*******

The drive to work was the most awkward one that Peter and Neal had ever experienced. Peter didn’t know what to say, and Neal feared how he might be reacting to the news.

Fortunately, the traffic was particularly heavy so Peter had enough time to come up with a means of broaching the topic. “I suppose your doctor gave you the same information that my doctor gave me?”

Unable to look towards the driver seat, Neal chose to watch Peter’s reflection instead. “I would assume so.” He didn’t want to leave the weight of the conversation up to Peter, but he didn’t know what he could say.

Finding it easier to work in basic questions and answers, Peter continued. “Do you know the circumstances behind it?” Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Neal go stiff and feared that he was angry.

“No, do you?” He knew he was adopted, but not anything further. What if Peter knew and didn’t tell him?

“Now I do. I’m so sorry Neal. I didn’t know you even existed until yesterday.” He could see Neal flinch. Apparently, ‘Our parents wouldn’t even acknowledge your existence to me’ wasn’t a good way to tell him. Wincing himself, Peter tried to rectify his mistake. “I didn’t mean it like that Neal. According to what they told me last night, they had a big celebration planned to announce that you were expected, but then mom got sick before they could have the party. That was the year that I lived with our aunt and uncle because mom ended up in the hospital and nearly died. Once they knew she was going to live, it still wasn’t known if you were going to make it. Then when you were born there were more complications endangering you life. With dad out of work and the medical bills piling up, they couldn’t afford to save you, so they had to put you up for adoption. Your parents saved your life and when they took you away, they wanted you to ‘truly’ be their son so they sealed your adoption files like we never existed… with the odds against us ever knowing about each other, mom and dad never told me.”

Neal was relieved to know that he was given up for a good reason and that maybe his adopted parents had cared for him at some point, but it still hurt that he seemed to be forgotten in the time following his adoption. “They never even hinted at the possibility of me existing?”

With his heart aching again, Peter could tell that his little brother felt like he had been given up and forgotten. It hurt to know that was going through his mind, so he corrected the thoughts. “You were the absent ghost in the house. Mom and dad never talked about you, but they asked me to tell you that they have a box full of letters and cards for you to read if you would like them. Then to me, you were the figment of my imagination. I’ve always wanted a little brother, but never knew I had one.”

After several minutes Neal decided to break the silence. “You’re not angry?” He might as well dive in and get his biggest fear addressed.

Startled, Peter almost didn’t hit his breaks fast enough to avoid rear ending the car in front of him. A quick slam on said breaks took the car to a jolting stop before Peter whirled around to look at Neal. “Angry? Why would I be angry?” He was at a loss as to where that came from.

“Because of my past.” Neal didn’t specify his criminal past, adoption, or what part of his life he meant. Perhaps he meant all of them?

Peter’s heart took another plummet in his chest. He sighed as he looked at the lost and fearful expression on his brother’s face. “No Neal. I’m not angry to discover that you are my little brother. You have made decisions in the past that I am not proud of, but I am proud of the man that you have become.” Suddenly his face fell as a thought crossed his mind. “You aren’t… are you?”

Taken back, Neal realized that Peter was also adjusting to the huge change and was unsure of where he stood too. “No Peter. I’m not angry either. Who would be upset to learn that you are their big brother?”

Feeling better, Peter took a deep breath and started down another avenue of questions. “Did you ever want a brother growing up?”

That wasn’t something that Neal had thought about. “I didn’t really have much time to think of things like that… but looking back, life would have been a lot easier having you around.” He wouldn’t have been alone and there would have been someone else there to help him learn the ropes of life.

“Are you ever going to tell me what it was like for you growing up?” Peter didn’t mean to ask that question. It was just something on his mind that slipped out while he was trying to picture Neal’s childhood.

“Soon, hopefully very soon.” Neal didn’t say that he would have to leave certain aspects out of that story, but he was allowed to tell the history of Neal, which included his real childhood.

*******

Arriving at work, Elizabeth was relieved for a little bit of time to reflect on the recent changes. It was quiet in the office and she didn’t need to expect anyone for an hour at the earliest. Settling back with a good cup of coffee, she leaned into her chair to think.

_The day had started normal and Peter had kissed her goodbye before heading off to work. He and Neal were doing a takedown and she could tell that he was worried. That gut instinct of his seemed to be alerting him that something bad was coming, but he was going to do his job anyway. “I’ll be careful” he had said when she cautioned him. Little did that do._

_She had just finished a meeting and her clients were walking out of her office when she got the call. ‘There has been an incident at the takedown. Peter and Neal are being taken to the hospital and I recommend that you come as soon as possible.’ She got the rest of the information from Diana and turned to Yvonne. “Yvonne, something has gone very bad at my husband’s takedown. He and Neal are being rushed to the hospital and I have to go. Can you hold down the fort?”_ _When Yvonne agreed to take care of the office, the clients wished her the best of luck and she thanked them before leaving for the hospital._

_It had been a terrifying experience for her as she waited for the doctor to tell her that Peter and Neal were going to be alright. When he did eventually come to see her, it was with the worst of news. They were losing Peter and Neal, so the doctor recommended she come see them to say goodbye._

_The two men were in the same room as the doctors tried to save them both from the same fate, but it was turning out to be a losing battle._

_With tears streaming down her face, she spoke to Neal before moving to Peter’s side. Unable to stand any longer, she collapsed sobbing. How could this be? She couldn’t lose him._

_While she spoke to him through her tears, the doctor came back to check on him. “That’s not possible… I’m sorry, but we need the room Mrs. Burke.”_

_Despite her protests, she was relegated back to the waiting room again. After a couple hours of stressful waiting and many tears shed later, the doctor came back to speak with her. “I’m sorry for not explaining the situation sooner, but we are baffled by what is going on with them. Their numbers continue to fall, but they have dropped into comas that seem to be slowing their decline down. Our staff has been struggling to research the poison that was used, but their situations seem to be different from any other case recorded.”_

_“Is there any hope for them?” Elizabeth was desperate for a positive answer._

_Shaking his head, the doctor crushed her hopes. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe so. I am not aware of anyone having survived this and there is no cure. We are doing everything that we can for them, but they are still slipping away, albeit slower than the other cases.”_

_The next thing Elizabeth knew, she was sitting on a couch in some safe house with Diana sitting next to her while Jones was trying to get her something to drink in the kitchen. Satchmo was nuzzling her leg while whining to know what was wrong._

_Hugging the dog, she couldn’t contain her grief as she burst into tears again._

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she took a deep breath and reminder herself that it was in the past, that Peter and Neal were alive and well.

Thinking about their current status, she turned her thoughts to learning that Neal was her brother-in-law.

She and Peter were having some mixed feelings about that discovery. Neal was a great friend and they both enjoyed having him around, but he was also a criminal famous for coloring outside of the lines. What would the long term affects be?

Then Peter was also upset by how much of a surprise the discovery was to him. Their parents had hidden Neal’s very existence for thirty years, and then to discover that his consultant was his brother? He had also been up much of the night as he fretted about how Neal would handle the situation. Would he be angry to discover that his parents put him up for adoption? What would he think of having Peter as a biological brother?

With Yvonne’s arrival, it was time for the day to begin and Elizabeth’s reflections would have to wait until later.

*******

As they walked up to the office, they both decided to keep their news from the general office for a little while.

Further discussing what to do, Peter mentioned that he had already told Hughes about their situation and that he was supposed to meet him about the rest of the official details that morning.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Neal suddenly realized that this revelation meant that either agency could decide to break up the partnership due to the risks involved with two brothers working together in the field… he hadn’t thought of that when he thought about possible ramifications to their relationship.

“What?”

Opening his eyes to Peter’s question, Neal replied. “I hadn’t thought about the official side yet. Do you think they will break us up?”

Furrowing his brows, Peter didn’t know the answer.

Entering the office, Peter hurried up to Hughes’ door to let him know that he was in. Since Hughes was in the middle of an important phone call, he waived Peter away with a look that said he would find him when he was done.

Shrugging down at Neal, Peter got settled into his office and made a quick call to Elizabeth with updates on how their conversation had gone. Then he went to work on his case load while he waited for Hughes to finish his call.

Meanwhile down at his desk, Neal was also getting started for the day and subtly checking his phone between watching the door as often as he could sneak it. He was hoping that the general would contact him with information pertaining to the new discovery and how she wanted him to handle it, or that Chuck would show up and be his ever helpful self (and hopefully not too mad about Neal not contacting him).

A few hours passed before Peter was called into Hughes’ office. After a few moments, he was back on the landing and giving Neal the double finger point so he knew that he was going to have to be present for the conversation.

Climbing the stairs, Neal tried not to think about what to expect and planned to take it as it came instead. It didn’t take long for him to quietly join Peter in the seats facing Hughes. Then, he nearly jumped out of his seat as he heard a familiar voice emanating from the computer screen.

Peter gave Neal a funny look that was curious about his reaction while Hughes calmly swiveled his computer screen around to be compliant with the general’s request.

Neal ignored the others as he focused on the general and tried to get an understanding of what she was doing. Looking at her, she was dressed like a sharp business woman obviously sitting in a government office. Otherwise, she was working to remain rather inconspicuous so that her full identity wouldn’t be recognized. Rather than get himself into serious trouble, Neal continued to remain silent, waiting for instructions.

“Mr. Caffrey. We have verified that agent Burke is in fact your biological brother and further investigations are being done to discover how this fact was missed. As for how to handle the discovery, a panel is working to discuss the situation and you will be notified when a decision is made.” Then she got her ‘this is a direct order so you had better follow it’ look as she gave him the answer he didn’t want to hear. “Until a decision is made, you will continue to play your role as if this didn’t happen.”

Raising his hand in a form that he knew irked her, Neal played the student asking the teacher for permission to ask a question.

“Yes?” came the apprehensive acknowledgment.

“Are you still sending the team?” Will he at least have Chuck to talk to since he wasn’t going to be allowed to tell Peter?

Looking relieved that he wasn’t going to be causing trouble, the general had at least some good news. “Yes, we don’t want any of your enemies to discover that you have the vulnerability of family so, as a precaution, your old team will be present for a while to ensure your safety. Most of them are civilian and Casey will be around for official assistance if needed.”

Neal had his answers so he sat back in his seat while the general and Hughes had further discussions about the situation. Peter on the other hand, was sitting limply in his chair trying to absorb what he thought he was understanding… his brother had something to do with government and Caffrey was a ‘role’ to be played?

When the general disconnected in her usual abruptness, Hughes turned to Neal. “Does she always act that abruptly?”

Shrugging, Neal smirked back. “Pretty much. She is the boss and she likes it that way.”

Peter still hadn’t pulled himself together, so Hughes continued to question him for as much information as he could get. “I know that you can’t really tell me anything, but I have a few questions for you anyway. Do we really have to worry about you committing crimes?”

Thinking through his answers before answering, Neal told as much as he felt comfortable doing. “Only when the situation dictates me keeping a realistic criminal persona, and even then I am not just running wild doing my own thing. It’s probably a lot like what it would be if you were playing a criminal, only with less paperwork for me as my boss handles giving the permission and working things out with the FBI.”

Nodding, Hughes fired off another one. “What enemies was she referring to so that we can also be on the lookout?”

“Unfortunately, that isn’t something that is easily defined. There have been a few problematic organizations to infiltrate the government through several agencies at several levels so no one really knows who all is a threat.”

No one was pleased with that, but Hughes continued. “Why then is this other team being brought in?”

“…To make a long story short, they are the best team for taking on the organizations that want me dead. Carmichael’s team have taken down the leaders and led the way for taking down the known elements. It doesn’t hurt that they have a classified secret weapon, but that is a whole other story in its self.”

Hughes and Peter looked surprised. “Why are you here ‘playing’ Caffrey when you are obviously not what you pretend to be?”

The look that Neal gave Hughes normally would have gotten him into trouble. “’Obviously?’” That got the look for him to behave. Smirking, Neal didn’t push it. “At this point, I unfortunately can’t tell you much of anything. Basically, I was betrayed by a team chosen for me, and after what happened, I wasn’t allowed to contact my other team. The bosses decided that I should revert to playing Caffrey which was the only safe alias that I had left.”

“What happened?” Peter was afraid to know that answer, but he was more afraid of what his mind would come up with for explanations if he didn’t get the truth.

Unable to really look either of them in the eyes, Neal told as little possible. “I was betrayed and shot in the back. The injury wasn’t fatal, but it was close enough, and I was considered too valuable to lose, so I was placed here.”

Shuddering, Peter threw out his next question with a shaky voice. “How much of you is real… I mean, are you really like you pretend to be, or is it all an act?”

Feeling the heartache that had been plaguing Peter, Neal tried to reassure him that their friendship and bond was real. “Basically, Caffrey is me in my down time, plus a criminal personality, and minus the nerd. The role is a balance between who I am, and who I might have become had things gone in a different direction. Unfortunately, my orders are to play like nothing happened, so I can’t reveal everything yet, but I really hope I get to soon.”

Knowing that there wasn’t much more that could be discussed between them, Hughes made his final few points on how he planned to deal with the situation before dismissing them.

Leaving the room, Peter told Neal that they were going to get coffee as he had some things to discuss with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D


	4. Protection Meetings

*******

Elizabeth had one more meeting to go with a perspective intern before lunch. If Peter didn’t call first, then she would try to get in touch with him to see how he and Neal were doing.

That plan wasn’t necessary though because she got the call from Peter while she was waiting for the woman to arrive.

Apparently, Neal had connections to the government and the con Caffrey persona was simply a role to be played. Since his ‘real’ identity was secret, a team was being sent in to keep an eye on the situation just in case anyone tried to take advantage of his new found weakness. An agent Casey would be working the official angles to make sure no one attacked, and two freelance former agents would be personally working protection. Because of this, El was to take on the potential intern as she was to be her guard. Intrigued, El tried to get some more information from Peter, but he didn’t know anything yet. They broke off the conversation as the woman walked in.

She wasn’t what Elizabeth would expect for a secret agent, but then that was probably the point. If she looked like an agent, she wouldn’t last long in the field.

“Hi, my name is Sarah Walker. I’m sure Peter told you that I’m an old friend of Neal’s?” Then she smiled. “And no, I can’t answer all of your questions about him until the boss clears it.”

Elizabeth decided she was going to like working with this woman. “Smart, you knew that I would be curious about my new found brother-in-law. I think this is going to be an interesting working relationship.” With that said, El gestured for them to take their seats to begin the official interview.

*******

The first part of the trip was rather quiet for Peter and Neal. Except for a heads up call to Elizabeth, Peter spent the time trying to get his thoughts into order and waited until it was time to air them. Neal feared how Peter might react now that he knew hints of the truth.

Once they were settled on a park bench, Peter finally managed to start asking his questions. “Why are you so afraid? When you were talking about your role here, you sounded like you were scared.”

Surprised, Neal tried to postpone his answer by drinking his coffee for a few moments.

“Were you afraid of how I would react?” There was hurt in the softness of Peter’s question.

Neal really didn’t want to say it, but Peter would be more hurt if he danced around the truth. He needed to be as truthful as he could so that Peter knew he was being honest with him. “Yes Peter. Yesterday I was your friend the White Collar con reformed into your CI, last night I became your long lost brother, and today I became the enigma you don’t know as well as you thought. It is a lot to take in and I don’t want you to be angry with me for keeping secrets, and yet I can’t blame you if you were to be angry as there are still secrets I can’t fully share… I’m surprised she contacted me back in such an open way that allowed me to even tell you this much!” He muttered the last part as he was still rather surprised by that outcome himself.

Peter was hurt by the answer, but relieved by the honesty behind it, so he returned the favor by being honest too. “I wouldn’t say that I am happy about the situation.” He watched as Neal tried to hide the pain that caused with another drink of coffee, but he wasn’t fooled. “Don’t get me wrong Neal. I’m glad that you’re not actually a criminal and proud that you sound like an agent. But I’m also worried as you have hinted at enduring a troubling childhood, whatever you do in the government sounds extra dangerous, and I don’t really know you. For all of the time that we have spent together, I have more theories than facts and those facts mostly revolve around catching what turns out to be a character that you play.”

Looking out acrossed the grass, Neal reflected on his words. “My childhood wasn’t exactly great, but it wasn’t as bad as you might think. Even though the people who adopted me weren’t there either at all, or beyond a physical presence after I was three, there was another person in my life.

She was a cop before she arrested James and everything fell apart. Over the years, she made sure to teach me how to take care of myself when she wasn’t around and she, like the Marshals, turned a blind eye to some of the ways I managed to handle the rest… Still, it was never anything more than minor things like forging a bus pass to get to school on time, pool sharking for lunch money, and other such things.

When I got older, I got my first round of finding out that I wasn’t who I thought I was, left Wit-sec, and met Chuck under circumstances that I can’t yet describe.

His parents are agents so they were forced to abandon him when there was a risk of danger following them home. He taught me how to handle my past in a healthy way and he was the second person in my life to be my anchor. Then, after I joined the government, I protected him and my actions pushed him away for his safety. Years later, I sent him his father’s third best creation and messed with his life again. Due to my actions, he had justifiably hated me, but we got a chance to rectify a lot of our issues before I was pulled from the picture again.”

Glancing at Peter with a smirk, he went back to staring into the distance. “Then there is you. Over the years, I watched you and felt a respect for you that I couldn’t explain. I’ve learned that it was because you try to be the honest man and live by the motto of doing ‘the right thing while leaving the pieces to fall where they may.’ After dealing with lies and deception, it was a relief to have another agent to work with like you. Since you are a lot like Chuck, with him being the little brother reflection of you, I found myself letting down my barriers to let you in. You are one of only two people I feel I can fully trust and completely call my friends. The more I work with you, the more I find myself shining through instead of continuing to play my role as much as I am supposed to. It’s not really possible to list off the points where the line is drawn between me and Caffrey because it is rather blurred, but perhaps given time you will learn how to see that blur… it’s not easy, even for me.”

Listening patiently, Peter wasn’t happy to confirm his theories, but he was glad to know a little bit about who his little brother really was. “Is there anyone in your life who really knows you?” It didn’t sound like he had anyone around to talk to.

“No. Leaving Wit-sec and my work in the government has cost me nearly everything…”

Suddenly he and Peter both jumped as a curly haired man plopped into the seat next to Neal. “Not nearly as much as you thought though.” Then he smirked triumphantly at Neal.

Relaxing, Neal laughed in response to the look. “’Turnabout is fair play,’ I know Chuck.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head fondly. “Peter meet my best friend Chuck, Chuck meet my brother Peter.” With a wave of his hand he gestured between them and tried to keep the smile from taking over his face. For the first time, he was introducing the two of them to each other and he was thrilled.

Peter and Chuck both liked to see the way he was smiling about their introduction so they left him to his contented thoughts for a moment while they shook hands. Chuck was happy to still be Neal’s best friend as he still considered the man one of his, while Peter was enjoying his upgrade in status from just being a friend to being his brother.

Being the observant heart on the sleeve type, Chuck noticed that Peter still had concerns about Neal’s history and status. “I have been updated on who he is from the day he was born up to now Peter, and I can assure you that you know him pretty thoroughly. Granted, there are things like his involvement with the government, his access that lets him manipulate the Marshal’s system like he did last night, and general history like how we met that remain unknown. But, you do know his tendency to be annoying, stubbornly go his own direction, and his playful personality that likes to put his intelligence to work on solving puzzles.”

While Peter looked surprised at Chuck and then annoyed at Neal, Neal simply jumped to the annoyed look at Chuck. “Thanks a lot, Chuck. At least I never told Ellie about anything that would get you into trouble, but given the first opportunity, you have to tell my brother something that he isn’t going to like. It took you, what… like five minutes to get me into trouble?!”

“Isn’t that my role as being the ‘younger brother’ reflection of him?” He simply smiled in response as he sipped his coffee. “Besides, you’re only playing a role and it is normal for people undercover to take a break from the role for a nice run around central park when they have just learned that they aren’t who they think they are in their real lives.”

And just like that, the annoyed expression left Peter’s face. “You had no one to talk to last night, so you arranged the freedom of a long run didn’t you? I’m sorry Neal, I thought about coming to talk you, but I couldn’t as I needed some time to adjust to everything too.”

Neal just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it Peter. I have dealt with things like this before, where as this was your first time.”

Curious, Peter wanted to know. “How did you handle if the first time?”

Twisting his cup around in his hand, Neal felt safe with his two best friends sitting on each side of him. “The same thing. I went for a long run before eventually settling down to talk to mom and Ellen.”

“Is Ellen the cop who arrested… James?” Peter was trying to associate names to positions in Neal’s life.

“Yeah. James is my adopted dad. Ellen was his partner until she found him standing over another officer’s body holding the murder weapon. The story goes that he skimmed evidence to ‘support’ his family, was caught by a crooked superior who pulled him into mob work, and eventually he murdered his boss to hide his growing crimes… Mom checked out, so Ellen made sure to get placed with us. Her official role was to play my aunt, which explained why she was around the family so much, but she was more of a surrogate mother to me.” Neal remained leaned forward and was releasing his nervous energy by fiddling with his coffee cozy.

For a few moments, no one said anything. Neal was lost in his own world and Peter was trying to picture his brother’s life.

Chuck continued to sit back and drink his coffee. The brothers were talking and the pause didn’t mean that he needed to intervene.

Then Peter had another question. “What happened the first time around?”

Jolted from his thoughts, Neal took a moment to understand the question. “Oh, uh, Ellen threw me my eighteenth birthday party. I told her my plans to join the academy to be a cop like… anyway; she decided that I shouldn’t make a fool of myself, so she told me the truth. After my run, we sat down and talked. It wasn’t possible for me to use my adopted name and I wasn’t actually Danny from St. Louis, so when I left wit-sec, I was given a new name and a new life.”

This puzzled Peter. “If you aren’t supposed to be telling me who you are, why are you answering my questions this detailed?”

Neal wasn’t worried though. “The bosses made my real past the history of my character up until I turned eighteen. There, the character turned to crime leading him here, and I went another way... that also landed me here eventually, but only by pretend. It isn’t something that I talk about, but even Mozz knows the basics, so it’s not completely a secret. Ellen and who I really became after turning eighteen are the parts that I don’t share with anyone who know this part of my life.” He didn’t have to say that he had just made an exception by telling them, that fact was an act of trust extended to his two most trusted friends.

“Isn’t Mozz a con artist?” Chuck was curious as to why he would trust a criminal with real and dangerous information.

Shrugging, Neal answered nonchalantly. “We have worked together for years, it’s the character’s past too, and he is as loyal as Morgan so I’m not worried about him betraying me… It’s just his propensity to commit crimes that worries me. Besides, I know about as much of his past as he does for the basic details.”

Peter listened, although he was more focused on reflecting, while Chuck tried to get to know the other friend in Neal’s life. “What is his past?”

“Even he doesn’t know who he is for sure.” That got Peter’s full attention. “He was abandoned as a baby at a Detroit orphanage. The man who ran the place raised him to read and use his intelligence to take care of himself. When he was older, he was adopted, but his brother didn’t like him. Mozz ran away to grow up on the streets and got into running cons. I’m not sure where Mozz the name came from, but perhaps that has something to do with his teddy bear; its name is Mozart and is the only thing that he has from his parents.” He paused for a moment. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

The three laughed together for a moment before they settled into silence. Tired of carrying the conversation, Neal decided to redirect it to Chuck or Peter for the moment. Since Peter seemed to be thinking, it made more sense to get Chuck to carry the conversation for a bit.

“I’m sure Peter is curious as to who you are, and I am behind in the times by a few years… so how have things been for you Chuck?”

Noticing that Neal had had enough, and that Peter needed something easier to dwell on, Chuck agreed to carry the conversation for a bit. “Well… I guess Peter needs a full run down so I might as well start towards the beginning.”

Taking another drink off his coffee, Chuck settled in to share his story.

“For the personal history, I grew up in Burbank California. My parents are agents, so they were forced to leave when their careers threatened to bring danger home to my sister and I. Being barely legal when my dad left us alone, my sister raised me through the rest of high school and has been my support ever since. After I graduated, I went to college and eventually earned a degree in computer engineering.

During my… break from college education, I went to work at the Buymore with my best friend since the third grade. For four years, I lived with my sister and worked with my best friend while hating Neal for what he had done, or supposedly done. Then, Neal did a few things to make sure that I would find out about my parents and ensured that I would take his place protecting… something. Anyway, his arch rival and partner followed what he sent me so he also set up my team.

Over the years, we worked missions and I started finding the secrets in my family. First, I learned what he had gone on to do with his life and why he kept messing with mine. Then, I learned that he had introduced me to his girlfriend who is now my wife, so you could say that he accidentally on purpose set us up. Eventually, I found my father, but Neal had made sure that he would let me find him, and my father led me to finding my mother who was trapped undercover. Finally, I learned the full truth about what my parents had sacrificed and what they risked it all for.

Now my team consists of my wife, my best friend since the third grade, and sometimes his future father-in-law the colonel. We own the Buymore and our freelance operation, thanks to a wedding gift from an old family friend, and the boss still hires us for official contracts when she wants us to personally handle something.

Since Neal meddled with my life, things have changed and I found that I could really be the man that he always believed I could be. That led to me getting my family back for the first time, I got married, now we have our own home, and we also own two companies.

Recently, we found that my father is alive, and now we found Neal too… if I thought life could be perfect, this would probably be it.”

“So, having me back in the picture is now considered part of having ‘perfection’ in your life?” Neal looked askance at him.

“Neal, you supported me in dreams that I thought were only dreams, you protected me, you watched out for an protected my family, and I don’t know of anything that you have done that wasn’t done for the benefit of others… so yeah, having you back in the picture is a good thing. Besides, I like having all of my friends around, or at least in touch since you live the other side of the country…” Chuck was adamant that Neal was a good part of his life and he was going to drill that into Neal’s head if he had too. “If you really don’t think that we want you in our lives, then I am going to have to drill that into your thick skull like you drilled your point into mine!”

Peter really liked that. Chuck was a friend who cared about Neal whether he wanted him to or not. This was a friend that he could grow to really like… especially when compared to Mozzie and Alex.

Chuck noticed how Peter was smiling at his declaration while Neal just looked at him like he wasn’t expecting Chuck to get after him like that. He was pleased that he managed to catch Neal off guard.

“You also learned how to drill points and pull surprises…” Neal muttered, but Chuck and Peter both caught it anyway.

“I learned from the best.” Chuck smirked

The three laughed together for a moment before Chuck’s stomach grumbled.

Taking the big brother role now that he apparently had one little brother and his honorary little brother, Peter suggested the three of them grab lunch before returning to the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, PMing me, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite :D
> 
> For those who are active on Pinterest, I now have a fanfiction account under Ke Jae where I have begun to compile pictures of things related to Chuck and White Collar. Following the suggestion of Penna . nomen and Silbrith, I have been working in secret boards to compile visuals for my current project of Persuasioned. Once the story is in the process of being posted, then I will add the visuals via that profile.


	5. Lunch Conversations

*******

After they finished the interview, Elizabeth suggested that they have lunch and get to know each other.

“You are an old friend of Neal’s?” Sarah wouldn’t really talk about Neal so Elizabeth went fishing to see what she could get about her instead.

“Smart, you want to see what you can get about him by talking about me and my connections to him.” She smiled and shook her head gently as she looked down at the menu. “I don’t know the real him very well. We worked together for a few years and dated some of that, but he never lets anyone get the full picture. Really, the situation is a learning experience for all of us. You and Peter want to know how he became Neal Caffrey, while Chuck and I are curious how he became the person we know.”

So, the con man really was a man of secrets. It was disheartening how little even his closest friends knew about who he really was. Perhaps the two groups could get a general picture of the man behind the mask if they worked together?

“Okay, so how about I tell you what I can and then you tell me what you can? That way we have something of a picture to work with?” It saddened Elizabeth to think that Neal kept himself so well locked away from everybody.

“We can try. The problem is that none of us know much. Still, it well help you to deal with the changes in your personal circumstances. I mean, hopefully, the more you know the easier it will be to adjust to having him as your brother in law.” She had a few moments of awkwardness. “This isn’t my strong suit, but I would like to help you all.”

Nodding, Elizabeth accepted her help. “Thank you.” Then she took a moment to gather her thoughts for the story that she had to tell.

“I don’t really know much about him. The short of it is that he appeared on the FBI radar when he was twenty four. He had forged Atlantic Incorporated bonds, which was supposed to be impossible, and his case landed on Peter’s desk. Peter got obsessed with the case becoming his second wife. Neal’s file had a special place on his desk, came home often, and it branched out into a box that we keep in the attic.

They first met when Peter was trying to warn a bank manager about Neal’s bonds, but he was coincidentally inside cashing one at the same time. When Neal came out, he overheard Peter and the manager conversing so he approached them pretending to be a trust fund kid. After they talked for a few minutes, Neal gave Peter a sucker as a joke and walked away. The chase spanned the globe for three years before Neal walked into a trap over his former girlfriend.

For nearly four years Neal did time in maximum security. Then Kate broke up with him, he escaped, and Peter caught him again. Before Peter arrested Neal, he took a few moments to talk to him. While they conversed, Neal arranged a meeting where he presented the current deal. After thinking about it for a while, Peter eventually accepted the responsibility of taking him on as his CI.”

They paused the conversation to place their orders. After the waitress left, Sarah started the conversation back up. “How long have they been working together?”

“They’ve been working together for about a year and a half now. It has been interesting watching them adjust as there was a lack of trust between them to begin with.” She finished with a curious tone as she wondered what would cause that in Neal.

Dodging the question behind the tone, Sarah encouraged her to share more details. “What has he been like since he started working with Peter?”

Cocking her head a little bit, Elizabeth contemplated the answer. “I don’t see him nearly so much as Peter does, but he comes around quite a bit. He is always polite and charming no matter where we are, but he seems to relax more when he is over at our place. It’s almost like he can be more comfortable letting some of his walls down when he is alone with Peter and I in the safe environment of our home.”

While they were waiting for their orders to be filled, Sarah decided to keep Elizabeth talking for the moment. “What is your opinion of learning that he is your brother in law?”

The question made Elizabeth nervous, so she fidgeted with the napkin and silverware. “Honestly… I have mixed feelings. He is an enigma that we don’t know anything about. Why is his past so secret, why the conman persona, why the trust issues, and so many other questions. Then when Peter was poisoned, Neal literally leaped hurtles to save his life, and Peter highly enjoys working with him. He is a good friend and I enjoy having him around, but it is going to take some time to get used to having him as a brother in law.”

Their lunches were delivered, so the conversation ended for a few minutes while they got settled.

When they were both quietly eating their lunches, Sarah decided to start her side of the conversation. “My parents are an odd couple. Mom is a stable law abiding citizen while my dad is an incurable con artist. I was young when my parents split up and, although my mom wanted to provide me with a stable childhood, I was eager for adventure. Dad took me with him and we traveled the nation pulling various cons.

Growing up, I changed my name and character with every location that we lived, or con that we pulled. At school I would be a violinist here and a martial arts student there; while studying to be a doctor in one place and learning to be a cop in another. For self defense, my dad taught me to throw knives and arranged a getaway box to help me escape should anything happen to him.

Then during my senior year, the law caught up to us and my dad was arrested. When I went to retrieve the getaway box, an agency director approached me. He was impressed with my record and put me on track for recruitment.

From there, I was given the name Sarah Walker, finished high school, and went to college. I studied a mix of nursing, law enforcement, and security. The plan was to have a base of knowledge in how to tend injuries if I was hurt in the field, and of course the knowledge of how to do my job. When I was of age, I went into my official training before going into the field.”

Elizabeth thought over the story while Sarah paused to finish part of her meal. Then she started into some questions for her. “What has it been like since you have been working in the government?”

It was Sarah’s turn to be nervous.   “My work was different than what Peter does. After growing up pulling cons with my father, it was easy to transition into executing government sanctioned ones. My boss was the agency director, so I have a high clearance level and have performed a variety of jobs on my missions. The details are either classified, or I am not to tell you to avoid you learning about Neal.”

Nodding, Elizabeth tried a different angle. “How did you end up working with Neal?”

Sarah showed fewer signs of being nervous, but she was more on her guard with that question. “I can’t say much. Basically… he is really good at what he does too, so the boss had us work together. Considering that I had no knowledge of his Caffrey alias, we weren’t working as closely as I thought.” She was hurt by that knowledge, but not entirely surprised.

Noticing the discomfort, Elizabeth redirected the conversation back to Sarah. “Why did you quit working for the government?”

Unexpectedly, Sarah had a turn of anger. “My life and the lives of those I care about were treated like pieces in a game of chess.”

The waitress returned with the bill and cleared the dishes, so Sarah paused for a moment until after she had left.

Something about that made Elizabeth nervous. “Do you think he will ever fully let his walls down around Peter?”

When they were alone again, Sarah smiled softly. “He trusts you two. From what you have described… he already has.” She paused a moment to wipe away the gathering tears before redirecting the conversation to her family. “I have only seen him act like that with one other person, my husband.   Neal and Chuck met when they were eighteen and were roommates for several years. After Neal had been in government for about a year, he saw danger coming for Chuck and protected him from it by appearing to betray him. Then four years later, his actions caused Chuck to be forced into government work under the protection of me and one of Neal’s rivals. At that point, we all hated Neal for what he had apparently done… It took a while, but we learned the reasons for his actions and have long since forgiven him.”

The waitress came back for their payment before leaving to process their cards.

They had finished eating, so they were finishing the conversation up while sipping on the last of their drinks.

Elizabeth shifted her straw around in the drink and watched the ice move in reaction.   “I have one last question that has been bothering me, and then we should probably get back.” She took Sarah’s silent nod as permission to proceed.   “What do you know of him?”

It was Sarah’s turn to get a contemplative expression. “Personally, like childhood, I know nothing. Work related I can’t share. That leaves character… the best way to describe him is to say that he may be an annoying pain sometimes, but he means well and is determined to help others, no matter the cost to himself.”

“Have a nice day ladies.” The waitress snuck the receipts onto the edge of the table and left them to attend other patrons.

Checking her watch, Elizabeth was sad to discover that their time was up. “I think I can see the brothers in them now. There are a lot of differences, but some of the core points seem to be similar. Perhaps I just need to get used to those differences, and this won’t be so strange anymore.”

Swinging on her jacket, Sarah finished the conversation.   “He is a government sanctioned con man who found his brother in his best friend. You knew him as a conman who had found his best friend in his handler, so he isn’t a complete stranger.” Smiling encouragingly, she made her final point. “No matter what his past is, he will share what he can with you, and you have the chance to be an active part of his future.”

Feeling better than she had in weeks, Elizabeth grinned at her. “Now, to turn your brilliance onto our client for the afternoon…”

******

Walking back towards the Federal building, the group chatted about where to grab some lunch. Neal directed them towards a favorite café of his before settling into the background. Peter and Chuck took advantage of their first meeting to get to know each other a little bit.

“How did you first meet Neal?” Chuck wanted to know a little more about his friend and his relationship with his new found brother.

Smiling at the memory, Peter teased Neal. “Well, I was investigating a ‘James Bonds’ for bond forgery when he came up due to cash in another one. In an effort to derail his progress, I visited a local bank and talked to the manager to warn them about the forgeries. A young bystander overheard our conversation and decided to approach me in concern about the money he had just withdrawn. He seemed like a worried trust fund kid thrilled to meet a real FBI agent, so I wasn’t really worried about him. At the end of our conversation, he gave me a sucker, said goodbye, and went on with his day. Sure enough, the bank had a forged bond and the security video showed the kid cashing it in. The brat gave me a sucker as he laughed at me for not recognizing a face that I hadn’t seen yet… I chased him around the world for three years after that.” It was obvious that he could laugh at what must have been humiliating back in the day.

When Neal didn’t react, Peter looked a little worried, so Chuck stepped in again. “Don’t worry about him. He revealed a lot earlier and just needs some quiet time to pull himself back together. What was it like chasing him?”

Looking at Neal for a few more moments, Peter didn’t go into detail. “He tried to make it a game of cat and mouse. I would chase and he would run, but it was like he was leaving a trail of bread crumbs. It wasn’t obvious, but it made him possible to follow. Now, I think he was ensuring there was a trail to keep the character three dimensional. If he came and went too much, it would be obvious it wasn’t who he really was.”

“How did the chase end?” Chuck was going to keep the conversation rolling as best he could.

“Kate.” Peter cleared his throat and looked away from them both as he didn’t like what he had to say. “He walked into a trap for Kate.”

“Her last name?” It was obvious a touchy subject, so Chuck figured it would be easier for him to understand this part on his own.

“Moreau.”

And there was the flash. She was a girlfriend of Neal’s, an undercover agent, and killed in action. Wincing, Chuck really didn’t envy Neal his life. The more he got to know about it, the more he realized that he really did have it better than his friend.

Changing the direction, Chuck decided to ask more about Peter and Neal. “What made you decide to work with him?”

“Neal? I don’t know entirely. Part of it is probably his intelligence, because I like smart people. Maybe, his playfulness… he was certainly not your normal criminal on the run from the FBI, and his nature seemed to help. His crimes were a mix of coloring outside of the lines, an appreciation for the finer things in life, and an interest in people that made his work a study in social engineering and networking. Basically, I have never seen another criminal like him and there was something admirable in that, so I was willing to take the risks in working with him.”

Imagining some scenarios, Chuck tested his theory. “What did he do while he was on the run from you, hand deliver food to the surveillance teams?”

Amused, Peter was impressed that he was so close. “Pretty much. He gave us champagne, ordered pizza, and several other things to keep us frustrated. How did you know?”

Waiving the impressed look Peter was giving him aside, Chuck nonchalantly answered. “That’s Neal. He has enjoyed a good prank, game, or puzzle as long as I have known him. Based on his work with my dad, he was probably keeping a good eye on you the whole time, so he enjoyed playing with fire. It was reckless of him, but you weren’t a dangerous threat, so he risked you catching him for the chance to interact with you.”

Peter liked to know that his brother enjoyed working with him. There was still a lot that they would need to address, but for the moment, he decided to talk to Chuck for a while and get to know him.

When they had finished eating, the three of them got up and started back for the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D


	6. Another day at the office

*******

Considering that the office had no idea why the strange guy was hanging out with Peter and Neal, walking into the office was rather interesting for the trio.

Yesterday, they walked into Hughes office acting like a moving force. After a while, they left for Peter’s office and remained virtually locked in for the rest of the day as they worked on cases and figured out a game plan. When the day was done, they left in a unified group, which was as uninformative to the rest of the office as their entrance had been.

Today was different though. When they finished their closed door session, the four of them moved out to the railing and lined up.

Hughes called everyone to attention. “Listen up people.” With all eyes on him, he started.

“Now, you all know the case against Xander ‘Blade’ Russell is still under investigation. So far, the results show that he hates law enforcement and has been causing trouble for years.   He just graduated to attempted murder with his action of cutting Peter and Neal with a poisoned blade. In response to his actions, a series of tests have been being done to discover how they survived. The overwhelming evidence is that they both have a lucky gene that allowed them to combat the toxin and survive despite how close it was. Due to some theories, that brought on another series of testing. We got the results to those tests the day before yesterday and have been giving Peter and Neal some time to sort out their new situation in private. It turns out that Neal’s files were deeply sealed at a young age, so his adoption went unnoticed; while Peter never knew the whole picture… they are biological brothers.” He held up his hand and tried to get the office to quiet down. Hughes was having his own difficulty dealing with the situation on a personal level, so it wasn’t easy for him to get the rest of them back into order.

Neal and Chuck decided to assist with a combined ear piercing whistle. It was something that they had practiced back in their college days to get attention of people from a distance… government work had proved it efficient for gaining the attention of a noisy group too.

Clearing his throat, Hughes threw Neal and Chuck a look. It was a mix between amused and annoyed, but he let their actions pass. “As I was saying, Peter and Neal are brothers. That has led to a whole other bunch of information being revealed. We got the go ahead to share a little bit of information about Neal with the office as a whole and explain why his friend is here to oversee things until all of the agencies are certain there isn’t going to be a threat of further attacks. Chuck.” He gave the floor over for him to explain.

“Hi, I’m Charles Carmichael. Those of you who might have heard my name before would recognize me as a CIA/NSA task force agent, but now I work freelance with the occasional contract for the government. I am here as back up for Neal to ensure that no one tries to take advantage of his new found family as a means of getting to him. Why would someone want to go after a White Collar con? Because. He is a government employee on official business with a role to play. At this point, nothing has been disclosed as to the task force he is involved in, but since the situation is being discussed in a panel, it was decided to prepare everyone for some likely outcomes.”

Stepping back, he let Hughes take the lead again. “Nothing else will be discussed until the panel makes a decision. Expect to be seeing Carmichael around for official business when necessary and unofficial business when he is in the city. He and Neal are old friends, so Carmichael’s team will also be heavily involved in the situation to look at the possibility of this being a hit from another field. Give them any information they request as this is a triple agency operation.”

Diana threw her hand up in the air to ask a question. When Hughes pointed at her she couldn’t resist her jibe. “Does this mean that we can’t tease Neal anymore? He is the boss’s brother now after all.”

Hughes threw a glare at her for such an inappropriate question. Then he smiled and redirected the question to Peter. “Well Peter, are they allowed to tease Neal?”

Peter’s eyes opened wider for being put on the spot and he answered honestly. “Uh… I guess it would depend on the teasing.”

Some of the personnel found that amusing, so the teasing questions continued.

“Does this mean that Neal won’t have to wear the anklet anymore, or do we have to monitor him more closely now?” Jones seriously asked the question in tone, but there was humor to his expression.

Chuck piped up to answer. “Monitor him more closely. I’ve known him for a long time, and he has a knack for finding, or being found by trouble… just because he isn’t bad doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need to be watched.” He beamed at Neal’s glare and only smiled more at his words.

“Right, I am thinking of things to tell your wife, sister, and father that could get you into trouble…” They both knew he wouldn’t actually follow through with the threat, but it was a playful response for the audience’s sake.

“Go right ahead… I am sure your brother would like to learn some embarrassing stories… perhaps your team could learn about a few certain tales from our school days…” He left his words hanging ominously to everyone’s (but Neal’s) amusement.

“Then the bosses would be having words with you Chuck, so you had better find some better threats.” Neal growled back with enough of a playful tone to alleviate any concerns. Then he grinned when Chuck didn’t have anything to come back with.

Meanwhile, the office below had loved watching Neal be brotherly with his friend with Peter happily watching on.

Deciding that the conversation had fulfilled its purpose, Hughes broke up the meeting and ordered everyone back to work.

Hughes returned to his office while the other three descended the stairs to mingle for a moment. Most of the office approached them briefly to congratulate them on discovering their family bond and generally introduced themselves to Chuck before returning to their duties. Being friends with Neal and Peter, a few of the agents hung out a little longer to watch Peter and Neal in their new roles as well as to get to know a little bit about Chuck beyond his introduction. It didn’t take long for everyone to disperse for the moment, but everyone knew that the changes in the office would be the gossip for some time to come.

*******

Eventually lunch time came around and as the trio was leaving the building, Neal asked Jones and Diana to accompany them.

“An opportunity to tease the brothers as well as get to know our guest agent? I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” Diana was enthusiastic and quickly agreed to go with them.

“Sure, just give me a second to type this last sentence for my report.” Although Jones was momentarily more focused on finishing his task, he too seemed to be rather interested in the opportunity presented to him.

Heading down together in the elevator car, the group discussed where to get lunch. Per the usual, Neal won out with his determination to get everyone to try a local eatery with a more artistic environment.

When Chuck was asked on his opinion, he simply shrugged. “In the past, he always knew the best places to get food, so I don’t suppose much has changed there.”

Laughing, Peter quipped his own teasing remark. “It depends on what you define as being good food. Personally, I don’t care how well they are prepared… but L’ Escargot will never be a ‘good food.’”

Neal grumbled. “And yet we turned out to be brothers…” which caused everyone to burst out laughing.

“Yep, I think it didn’t take long for the friendly banter to turn into brotherly banter.” Jones was smiling in amusement as he watched the brothers squabble about the definition of good food.

“Personally, I think they had brotherly banter before. It’s just changed because they are actually brothers now, so they have liberties with each other that they didn’t have before.” Diana had been observing them for some time, so it was interesting to hear her take on the change.

“Neal has always been a loner in so many ways. He doesn’t have many friends, and the few that get past his walls, like Peter has… they are his brothers. I know that from experience by the way. Which also means that Peter is going to be in for some serious over protection… also known by experience.” Chuck smiled fondly while Jones and Diana shared a look.

“What do you mean by ‘over protection?’” Jones inquired.

“I can’t share all of the details… but let’s just say that whenever someone tried to hurt me or my family with Neal around, they had to get past Neal in order to do so.” That was what made Neal the friend that he was. He might be a pain sometimes, but he also gave the friendship his all. “Which reminds me. Just a heads up, but if anyone should try to hurt Peter you’ll want to keep an eye on Neal. He might not do anything too stupid, but he would take huge personal risks to ensure Peter’s safety… like take a fatal bullet or something huge… not like he wouldn’t have before, but now he is all the more likely.”

“He plays the conman role well, but he slips a little because learning that he is something more isn’t entirely a surprise.” Jones said. Although Neal kept up the character, he didn’t entirely manage to hide the truth of who he is behind the mask.

“Still, it is a surprise. I mean, how many times do you expect the cons that you arrest to turn out to be government employees? Then of that number, how many do you expect to keep the role going on for years, even into working in the same office?!” Diana was accepting the situation, but she was still surprised by how unexpected it all was. “What next? Is Haversham going to turn out to be something too?”

Neither one noticed Chuck as he flashed on the name before laughing. When they looked at him to see why he was laughing, he simply waived them off. “It’s nothing really, I was just thinking. When I first got to experience working with the government… I got to be amazed again and again. First the lovely woman that I now call my wife turned out to be government, then Neal, then my father, and eventually my mother. That isn’t even mentioning the times I would see a random person walk through a store or pass me by on the street to learn that this seemingly normal person was an assassin, spy, or some other job where they play normal to hide the truth. Life is full of roles, but it is the person behind the role and the reason for playing the role that are the most important.”

Unable to persuade Peter to his side of the food debate, Neal decided to change the subject by reentering the conversation. “So, you found your mom?”

“Did you know about her?” Chuck suddenly had the suspicion that Neal knew about her first too.

“I know nothing of any project that your mother may or may not have been involved in, and therefore could have no knowledge of anything pertaining to her past whereabouts since the weekend you described her leaving.” Neal was careful to ensure he said nothing incriminating. After all, anyone who knew about what had happened was bound to end up in trouble… likely of the lethal variety too.

Chuck didn’t say anything, he just gave Neal a look that showed his appreciation for whatever action he had taken to help his mother.

Peter and the others felt that there was something significant there, but it was obvious that they wouldn’t be getting an answer if Chuck couldn’t even get a response. Fortunately for everyone, the restaurant was reached before things could get too awkward.

*******

When the group was heading back to the office, they were surprised to encounter Mozzie.

“Did you forget, or did the suit monopolize your free time with his government brainwashing?” Mozzie was his usual mix of petulant and suspicious attitude, which only increased when he noticed the stranger standing with them. Then he was surprised by how the man reacted to him.

“Thank you Mozzie. My name is Charles Carmichael, please call me Chuck, but you would be more concerned with me being the son of Agents Orion and Frost as well as a long time friend of Neal’s.” He didn’t bother putting his hand out for Mozzie to shake. It was obvious that the paranoid man wouldn’t until after he was able to confirm the information (if even then).

“How can I know that you aren’t some impersonator trying to get me to let my guard down so that you can take me to some governmental secret location to be tested on?” He gave Chuck an assessing glance from head to toe and back up again.

While the others didn’t know how to react, Chuck just smiled at him. “Call my dad. You have his number Theo.”

Mozzie looked like someone had slapped him and he was about to bolt.

Chuck threw another piece of information at him. “You know that handy piece of technology that my father created? I am my father’s son, and the next generation guardian. So, you tell me how I know who you really are.” He wasn’t the least bit fazed by Mozzie’s actions.

Neal on the other hand, was taken back. “He knows about that? Right now, I really wish that I had gotten one when I was supposed to, because maybe then I would understand what is going on here.”

Suddenly, the whole group was all looking at each other trying to figure out what had just happened.

Then Mozzie decided to give Orion a call in order to settle the situation down. When the line went through, he was short and to the point. “I have a young man here claiming to be your son, and a friend of mine who is suddenly displaying an understanding of that certain creation of yours that he shouldn’t know about.” He bobbed his head as he heard the responses before ending the call and looking at his phone. Then he looked up at Neal and said, “I believe you have some explaining to do Neal… or should I say Aaron Burke?”

Neal snorted at him. “Like you don’t? I mean, you have known Orion all along, and I didn’t notice?”

Mozzie responded by throwing his own irritated and slightly amused expression back. “Huh. I have been working with the government a lot longer, and I still missed you. It would seem that Orion picks the people he works with very well.” Then he turned to Chuck and extended his hand. “Well, you already know who I am, and my cover is somewhat blown by this untimely encounter.” He sighed as he just shrugged. “My real name is Theo and I work for the government, but that is all that I am going to share as even that is a breach of security. Neal, we need to talk later… you might as well bring Chuck along as he knows everything anyway.” Then he just walked away to adjust to his new discoveries, but the lip readers caught the words ‘Know it all… just like his father’ being muttered.

Peter, Jones, and Diana were staring after Mozzie like they couldn’t believe what they just witnessed (because they couldn’t). Neal looked between Mozzie and Chuck trying to fill in the blanks and catch up. Finally, Chuck just looked at the others, laughed at their expressions, and started walking back towards the office again.

After a moment, the rest of the group caught up to him in an effort to interrogate him. They pelted him with questions before Diana made her accusation. “When we were talking about Haversham turning out to be someone too… you knew, and I don’t think that could be classified as ‘nothing!’”

Pausing for a moment, Chuck turned to look at all of them. “My father is just as… paranoid as he is, and with good reason too. His base may have been destroyed, but I still have some of his old files on his allies and enemies. One of said allies just happens to be the little guy who just walked away so I know everything about him that my father knows, but I won’t run around sharing it. The basics are just as he said, his real name is Theo and he works for the government. Like my father, he is a master at disappearing, so his talents have been put to their use for something important that I will not jeopardize. If he should reach a point that he wishes to share his personal information, he will share it. And just to let you know, he just told you four more than he has ever told anyone before.” With that he turned around and directed them to proceed back to work.

Four shocked agents quietly followed him in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, leaving kudos, and following :D


	7. Dinner Plans

*******

When the evening finally rolled around, Peter had to admit that it had been an interesting week full of life altering events. A series of events that caused El to plan a dinner party inviting his team, Chuck’s team, and the not-so-con-man-after-all Mozzie over in order to have a private means of integrating all of the changes together.

For Peter, that meant that he was manning the grill and had plenty of time to reflect on the changes. That was until a Colonel Casey shooed him away from his own grill with a very short explanation as to why.

“Chuck wants to introduce you to his wife and I am to take over the grilling.”

Unsure of what to think about the short statement, Peter decided to get an explanation from Chuck. Weaving his way through the guests, he was flagged to the couple introducing themselves to El by the front door.

“Hey Peter. You have already met Colonel Casey. He is a marine, sniper, NSA agent, and short on conversation… as you probably discovered. If he likes you he will open up, but even then he isn’t usually much of a conversationalist.”

Peter just nodded his head taking mental notes for later. “And he seems to like grills too.”

The others found that amusing while Chuck explained. “One of his cover roles had him as a floor salesman in an electronic store. It’s a long story that I can’t share, but he adjusted to the cover by forming an attachment to grills.”

Then Chuck’s wife introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Sarah. Neal and I dated when we were partners, but when circumstances changed, he caused Chuck and I to be introduced. Overall, Neal’s actions caused an arc of events that brought Chuck’s family back together, my family into the picture, and made our lives the way that they are now. Now we’re thrilled to hear that Neal is getting that opportunity too.”

“It certainly has brought everybody together into one room and revealed a lot of secrets. There is more to come, but things have definitely gotten a good start going here.” Neal interjected into the conversation. He was standing in just a fashion that he could see their group as well as look around to see the rest of the people mingling in the open space.

“Technically, not everybody is here. There is the rest of my family, your parents, and Morgan to name a few.” Chuck corrected.

“Considering that Morgan has never liked me, I haven’t exactly met my parents yet, and last I heard your family was still mad at me for various past actions, so I wasn’t exactly counting them at the moment.” His explanation drove Chuck to further correct his assumptions.

“The key point being that was the ‘last you had heard.’ Since then… really, they all have come to one basic conclusion about you. None of them like how you did what you did, but they all understand why. First, if you hadn’t protected me, I would probably be dead. Then you caused Sarah, Casey, and I to become a team. Finally, your actions have caused an arc reaction which has made my family what it is today, a family that welcomes you in like a member. So, expect them all to call, visit, or be contacting you via some method.” Chuck shook his head at the look on Neal’s face. It was like the man was being handed the highest pardon for some unimaginable crime. “Don’t make faces like that Neal. All you ever did was protect me, my family, and that creation of my fathers the best way that you could under the circumstances. Who wouldn’t forgive those actions?”

Sarah cut it before Neal could respond. “Don’t say anything Neal. Just accept the gratitude.”

Obeying the command, Neal just nodded his head quietly before moving away to reflect on the changes in Chuck’s family perspective of him.

“He is probably going to go for another run tonight in order to work through some of this. Much of my family has shown hatred to his face for nearly ten years to his knowledge. Our forgiving him is a lot of change that he didn’t see coming.” Chuck was glad to be able to relieve another burden from his friend’s shoulders as well as offer another angle of family into his life (not to mention having all of his closest friends back in his own).

“I’ll have to remember that he goes for runs when he is upset or dealing with something. It might help me to be better aware of his emotional state in the future now that he is showing more of himself to me.” Peter mused over another fact that he had learned about his brother. (Oddly, it was Chuck that had made him aware of this fact earlier in the week).

The rest of the room seemed to be shifting from conversations amongst themselves to watching the group by the door. Since they had remained in a closed conversation for too long, El suggested that they move further into the room to continue introductions.

Directing them along, Peter introduced them to Hughes first. “This is my boss Reese Hughes. Hughes, you have met Chuck and this is his wife Sarah. Their counterpart Colonel Casey has commandeered my grill out back.”

Amused, Hughes shook their hands. “Chuck. Sarah. I hope we can get to know a little more about each other this evening as I have a feeling that we will now be either seeing or hearing more about each other in the future. By the smell of it, it appears that your colonel is a rather accomplished grill master.”

Peter shot him a look for encouraging Casey’s behavior, despite it being slightly amusing.

Sarah smiled in Casey’s direction. “He doesn’t have the highest opinion of the FBI, but Neal is certain that he will change his mind about you guys. After all, he called me a ‘skirt’ and Chuck was nothing but a weak geek in his eyes when we first started working together. Since then, he has said that I am the best agent he has ever worked with and Chuck the second… as Neal’s taste in agents continues, I am sure that you’ll win him over soon enough. In the meanwhile, he insists on manning the grill so that Peter can mingle, which also saves him from having to mingle himself.”

While Peter was leading them to the next group, he muttered. “I thought he liked grilling and was simply giving me a means of being present in here?”

Sarah was standing closest to him, so she answered. “All of them are reasons why he is manning the grill. I just thought that your boss should know his opinion and that it is likely to change. If we end up working with you officially, it might help make the situation smoother.”

He hadn’t considered that. Peter gave her an understanding nod before moving to the final group. “These are my agents Clinton Jones and Diana Barrigan as well as Neal’s friend Mozzie…”

“Call me Theo. As the daughter in law to Orion, wife to Chuck, and friend of Neal’s you might as well know my real name as the rest of them do. By the way, I also work for the government as a counter part to your team, but I am currently on a different assignment, like Neal. Don’t expect any more from me, as that is all that I am going to say.” Mozzie had his arms crossed in a closed off stance to reinforce his unwillingness to talk any further.

“Another one?” Hughes simply looked at Peter who nodded to confirm the truth of the statement.

Neal huffed. “So, I work with you for nearly ten years and you don’t say a single word about being anything more than Mozzie the con artist, but Chuck shows up and suddenly you tell the entire group.” He was complaining to himself in the corner, which was mostly ignored by the rest of the group.

Casey chose the opportune moment to enter the room with the food and Elizabeth ushered everyone in to eat.

Elizabeth had her usual flare for fantastic cooking and the meat was masterfully grilled by Casey, but it was the conversation that held the entire groups attention.

“Come on Mozz. You can’t just lay on the ‘I’m a secret agent’ stuff and not tell us anything more. I mean, you have been ranting about how horrible law enforcement is and calling us ‘suits’ for as long as we have known you. Then you turn out to be a suit yourself? We’re dying of curiosity here!” Diana hadn’t gotten a chance to try and get Mozzie to say anything more, so she made an attempt.

Sensing his hesitation, Elizabeth cajoled him. “It’s okay Theo. You know we aren’t out to get you. Besides, you don’t have to tell us everything. Maybe… just fill in your cover role a bit more.” Elizabeth tried to get him to tell them something with the hope that maybe overtime he would feel comfortable enough to tell them more.

Giving in to Elizabeth, Mozzie decided to fill them in some. “Okay, but my cover role only.” He proceeded to tell them about growing up in Detroit and how he ended up on the streets working as a con. When the story was finished, he directed the conversation to Neal so that he could hide away from the prying eyes of a table full of curious agents.

“Thanks Mozz.” Neal stopped eating and took a drink. He was obviously very nervous and didn’t appreciate being put on the spot.

Chuck muttered to him in Klingon. “pobIQ 'ej chay' ghom maH SoH. vaj Huv SoH Hop.”

Smirking at the confused expressions on the faces of the New York crew, Neal thanked Chuck in Klingon. Taking the conversation in the direction that Chuck suggested, Neal gave his general back story and some generalized details about meeting Chuck at school.

Eventually, the group took a break to clear the dinner dishes and get the desert served before they continued talking.

“Why Mozzie?” Sarah asked the little man.

“It is for someone in particular, should they ever be found.” That was as much of nothing as they expected to get, so they continued in another direction.

Peter was curious. “Neal is obviously what you believed to be your first name, but why something as out there as Caffrey?” He was trying to broach the name situation.

“Caffrey is my adopted mom’s maiden name and as close as you can get me to going by my adopted name. I know what your next question is going to be Peter, and I don’t know the answer. There is my birth name, adopted name, Wit-sec name, post Wit-sec name, and so many aliases that I have no idea what name I will be using tomorrow, yet alone long term. That is another topic being discussed by the board, with no results as of yet.” He couldn’t look at the rest of the table. It was hard enough having his very identity being out of his control, but it was harder to look at the faces of his closest friends and family as they felt for him.

There was nothing to say to that, so Peter put his hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture he seemed to be favoring.

Neal nodded to him after a moment giving his silent thanks for the support. Then he got an evil grin on his face as he directed everything Chuck’s way. “So, Chuck. How did you learn that I was here? There was no fuss, no funny looks, and no indicators that any of this is a surprise to you.” He was using the questions as a diversion, but he was generally interested.

“Simple. I am my father’s son and I have contacts. One such contact knew of you and saw you here in New York. They don’t mean you any harm, but they did think that the information would be interesting to me. From there, it was a simple matter of researching before I found you. Then I started looking into what you were doing here and who was around.” He laughed. “Sarah and I were actually on our way to arrange a meeting with you when the boss contacted us and informed us of your new circumstances. Casey was near enough to be along shortly and here we are.”

Blinking at him, Neal paused to think for a moment. “So… that’s it? A contact of yours tipped you off and you’re not even remotely angry?”

“Do you want me to be?” Chuck could see what he was getting at, but he wanted Neal to express it himself.

“No! It’s just… you have always been the more emotional of the two of us and I have been… out of the picture for a while now. I’m just surprised that you aren’t angry with me for not contacting you.” Neal wasn’t complaining about the lack of angry puppy eyes, but he had expected Chuck to react somehow.

“Let’s just say that I have come to better understand government work. You would have contacted us if you could, but the situation of your current job meant that you weren’t supposed to reach out to anyone. Does that mean that I am happy to learn that you have been living here as a con without letting me know that you are okay? No, I would rather have known.”   Then he smiled playfully at Neal. “I could yell at you later if you want me to?”

Snorting, Neal shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have been confronted by you in full fury mode before, and that isn’t a memory that I would like to repeat.”

“Good, because I don’t really want to yell at you right now either… and if you do something stupid down the road, I can always tell your brother and let him tell you off for me.” Chuck changed it to a joke.

“Hey! I’m not going to become a messenger boy here.” Peter’s complaint fell on deaf ears.

“Just remember, you have an older sister, father, and a wife that I can alert if you want to play those games.” Neal countered.

“Fight your own battles Neal.” Sarah dismissed him.

“Boys! Behave.” Elizabeth went big sister on the boys and went about settling the situation. “Neither of you are going to be doing stupid things, so there is no need to be tattling to each other’s families… Besides, you are grown men, so get better threats.”

Laughing, Neal and Chuck dropped their argument to appease El.

“We don’t actually mean it El. It’s just something of our banter from school.” Neal soothed.

“Besides, I live on the other coast so I won’t be around to know when he does do anything stupid.”

Glaring at Chuck, Neal thought about saying something, but Peter cleared his throat to warn him not to enter into another argument.

“Did you always bicker like this growing up?” Diana asked.

Smirking at her, Neal answered. “We didn’t grow up together.”

“That’s right, that would imply that you grew up.” Diana countered.

Rolling his eyes, and practically face palming, Peter interrupted. “Diana…”

“I’m not starting an argument, I’m just teasing him.” She defended herself.

“Yeah, and that is what started the last argument.” Peter stated.

“Hey, are you implying something there Peter?” Neal mock glared at him.

“Nope. I’m simply stating my observations.” He warned.

Seeing that Peter wasn’t in a playful mood, Neal decided to back off for the evening. There would be plenty more opportunities to mess with his brother later.

Shifting the conversation over to more mild topics, the group spent the rest of the evening getting acquainted with each other.

*******

Later in the evening, most of the group had left, but Peter pulled Neal aside for a few last words before sending him home.

“Neal, mom and dad want to come to town this weekend to see you. Are you ready for that?”

They didn’t want to make Neal feel forced, but their parents were getting rather eager to at least meet their other son.

Looking a bit startled, Neal took a moment to test his feelings. “I don’t know… but a weekend makes for a good start.”

Pulling him in for a hug, Peter patted his back. “They are looking forward to making up for lost time. I’m proud of you Neal, this is hard for you, but you have handled it very well.”

Smiling, Neal enjoyed hearing that. “There is a lot of time to make up, so we might as well get started. Thanks Peter, you aren’t handling this so bad yourself.”

Stepping back, Peter arranged for a late breakfast the next morning as their parents were only a few hours North.

*******

Klingon according to Bing translator: Share your youth and how we met. You have been cleared that far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, and leaving kudos :D


	8. Meeting the Parents

*******

It was going to be an interesting weekend.

Elizabeth was working diligently in the kitchen, Peter was keeping himself busy by pacing, and Neal was trying really hard not to fidget… an effort that he was failing at.

“Stop fidgeting Neal. They are going to love you as much as we do.” Elizabeth told Neal to relax.

“Which one of you were thirty before you met your parents? Neither of you?” He played it off slightly sarcastic. “Right, so don’t tell me to stop fidgeting.”

Taking a few moments, Peter paused in his pacing to take a really good look at his little brother. The kid looked more nervous than he had ever seen him before. “It’s okay to be nervous Neal.” When Neal turned to look at him, he continued. “How often do you see me pacing around like this?”

“What do you have to be nervous about?” Neal didn’t know what had Peter worried.

“How often do you introduce your brother to your parents?”

Neal nodded because that made more sense.

Then Peter continued. “It doesn’t help that they seem to have been caught in traffic. At this rate, Chuck and Sarah might arrive here before they do.”

Snorting, Neal wasn’t surprised. “I’m more surprised that Chuck and Sarah aren’t here already. They just had to give the boss an update.”

“Hopefully they didn’t run into any complications.” Peter muttered as he made yet another trip to look out the window.

“I doubt it. It’s more likely that Chuck and Sarah are staked out in their car where they can watch over us, but to keep a distance so that we can have some family time before they ’arrive.’” Neal was sure that his theory was correct as it had Chuck written all over it.

Chuckling softly, Peter could see that. “I still don’t know Chuck very well, but that sounds like him from the impression that he has given me.”

“It definitely has Chuck written all over it.” Neal stated.

“So you don’t know why they are late, you simply have a believable theory?” Peter asked.

“Until proven correct.” Neal was a little smug as he defended his stance.

Rolling his eyes, Peter didn’t continue the battle as a knock on the door made him jump. Taking a moment, he turned to glance at Neal, looked at Elizabeth who had moved into the room in response to the knock, and breathed deeply before moving to the door.

After a quickly glance through the window, he confirmed their identities with a glance as he started pulling the door back.

Having completely opened the door, Peter smiled nervously. “Hi mom and dad.”

Using a serious tone to hide his nerves, his dad explained that their delay was due to an accident leaving them stuck in traffic.

“Is he here?” His mom jumped straight to the important point.

Gesturing towards Neal, Peter drew attention to his younger brother. “Mom and Dad, meet Aaron, or Neal as he is currently undercover as. Neal, meet Iris and Isaac, also known as mom and dad.”

Walking up to him slowly so as to avoid intimidating him, Iris reached up to place a hand on the side of his face. “You have my dark hair and blue eyes…” The tears were starting to run down her face and causing her to sniffle. “I am so sorry that we couldn’t keep you.” With that, she broke down crying.

Feeling awkward, but concerned for his mother, Neal moved to gently hug her and show that he was alright. Looking over her shoulder as she cried, he waited to see how Isaac would react to him.

Seeing that his son didn’t hold their decision against them, Isaac smiled proudly with tears glistening on his eyes.

Once Iris pulled back to wipe her eyes, Isaac moved forwards to shake Neal’s hand and pulled him into a fatherly hug. “I’m glad we get to meet you. If you’ll let us, we would like to get to know you and be a part of your life.”

Lost for words, Neal glanced over at Peter to see that he also had tears shining in his eyes as he got to watch his family together for the first time. Looking back to his parents, Neal didn’t have anything eloquent to say, but honesty was the best way to go. “I’m glad to meet you too.” Then he smiled as he thought about a reaction to the other part. At their questioning glances, he enlightened them on what was amusing him. “Talking to you does provide a lot more depth of information than simply asking Peter, or looking you up.”

Laughing, the room was amused.

“Talking to you provides a lot more information than asking Peter about you too.” Iris said as she smiled. She was happy to know that her youngest didn’t hold any animosity towards her, and even better, he wanted to get to know her too.

Moving forwards as the hosts, Peter and Elizabeth took their turns to greet their guest before the group moved into the dining room to grab a light brunch.

Settling in around the table, they started some general conversation.

“So, why don’t you tell us about yourself Neal?” Isaac asked. “Peter was rather light on details the last time we talked about you, and yesterday he said that we would have to ask you if we want to know anything.”

Having relaxed some with the initial meeting past, Neal started to fill them in on the basics. Once he had finished, he broached the next part of his past. “As Peter has recently learned, I am an employee of the government, and not just as his CI. I was… employed when I was twenty one and I am not able to go into detail as of yet because a Congressional panel is still discussing how to proceed.”

Even Peter stumbled over that. “You never said anything about the group being a Congressional Committee…”

Smirking lightly at his slip, Neal teased him. “I guess I didn’t want to rub that in yet.”

“What do you mean by that?” Iris asked.

Answering, Peter bragged for Neal. “It means that he reports to people a lot higher than me and that whatever he does, he seriously outranks me.”

Surprised, but happily so, the group relished in the good news before curiosity continued the conversation down other paths.

After a while, the food was finished and the group decided to clean up. Working as a family unit, the group made short work of the task and were soon seated around the living room with coffee.

“Is that what it was like growing up?” Neal asked Peter.

With a falling expression, Peter didn’t like the reminder that Neal had never known the family environment that he grew up with. “Yeah, that is pretty much the idea of chores growing up.”

Laughing and deciding to point out his eldest’s stubbornness, Isaac decided to share a story. “Most of the time anyway…”

Grinning, Neal turned towards his father. “That sounds like the beginning to a story… did Peter get into trouble?” He ignored the dirty look that Peter threw his way.

Enjoying the chance to share the story, Isaac set the scene. “Peter was starting to grow into his preteen rebellious stage, so your mother and I decided to discipline him by telling him that he wasn’t allowed to play until he had finished the dishes after a family get together…”

While he paused to laugh, Neal looked around at the other’s reactions. Elizabeth was looking just as interested so it must be a new story for her, Peter was blushing slightly as he tried to hide from his prying eyes behind his coffee cup, and Iris was throwing an amused glance at Peter.

Continuing the story, Isaac moved on the punch line. “How long did it take for you to finish those dishes?” His eyes were glinting in humor.

Muttering as low as possible, Peter answered unintelligibly.

“What was that?” Isaac asked again.

Sighing, Peter grudgingly spoke louder. “Three days, alright.” Turning to Neal and Elizabeth, he defended himself. “What? There were a lot of dishes, and I really procrastinated in the hopes that they would take pity on me and help.”

Seeing the humor, Neal and Elizabeth laughed lightly.

Then Neal made another comment, “So, that is why my procrastinating never works on mortgage fraud cases?”

“That’s right. If no one is going to help me with the dishes, then you are going to do your paperwork by yourself… especially since you are better qualified.” Peter turned the teasing right back at him.

“White Collar isn’t actually my field, so I don’t know about that.” Neal said.

“You so have some explaining to do once you are able to talk about what you do.” Peter warned.

Taking comfort in knowing that Peter would keep an eye on Neal through the work front, the group continued to try and get to know him personally.

“Do you have any friends that know you as you?” Iris asked.

“Mainly Chuck, he is a part of the team that is acting as our protection to ensure that none of my old enemies come after us.” Looking at his watch, he pulled out his phone to shoot off a quick text. “He and his wife are supposed to be here, but they had a meeting to go to.”

“What is Chuck like?” Isaac asked.

Looking at his vibrating phone, Neal read the response before answering. “They are on their way.” He told the group as a whole. Then he focused on the question. “Before learning that Peter is actually my big brother, I would have compared our friendship to being like brothers and where Peter is the older version, Chuck is the younger.” Taking a moment to figure out exactly how to describe him, Neal came up with some basics. “Chuck is the son of two spies, studied computer engineering in college, he owns a Buymore and Carmichael Industries, he used to work for the government as a Director of Operations and Special Agent, and still works as a freelance contractor who guards a very important database. On the personal front, he is very close to his family, protective of his friends, wears his heart on his sleeve, and is generally easy going even though he has gotten more focused since I was last around a lot.”

“He is a good friend of yours, isn’t he?” Iris asked softly.

Responding softly, Neal answered. “He is probably my oldest and closest friend… Although, Peter has pretty much caught up on the closest part.”

“Are there any other friends in your life?” Isaac asked.

Pondering that, Neal didn’t have many to list off. “There is my landlady, the teams, and Mozzie recently turned out to be an agent too.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Iris asked.

Blinking at the unexpected question, Neal glanced at Peter again.

In response, Peter mouthed ‘grandkids’ and smirked at him.

Throwing a slight glare at his older brother, Neal shook his head while he turned back to Iris.

“No… relationships don’t tend to last in my line of work.”

“Why not?” Iris wanted to know.

“Because… agent Moreau was killed in action, agent Walker married Chuck, and those are the only two relationships that I have had.” Since she was obviously going to push the topic, he gently closed the conversation. “I have my character to play with lives depending on how well I do, and no relationship should be built off of that.”

Understanding her son’s situation, but still not pleased that he couldn’t settle down, Iris didn’t push the topic as it was obviously something he didn’t want to discuss.

A knock on the door brought a brief break to the conversation as Peter went to let the other agents in. “Neal has had a theory as to why you’re late…” He greeted them.

Smiling at him, Chuck challenged Neal. “Care to share your theory and we’ll see if you are right?”

Looking over at his friend, Neal observed his reaction closely. Chuck was the easiest one to read after all. “You finished your meeting hours ago and have been sitting down the street to observe that we were safe, but to give us some time to get past the initial meeting in private.” Grinning at the obvious tell, he knew that he was correct. “Your still just as readable as ever Chuck. Like Peter, you are great undercover, but can’t lie very well to your family and friends.”

Wise enough not to comment, Peter invited them further into the room and it didn’t take long before they were also settled in with drinks to join the conversation.

Throwing a look at Neal, Chuck asked him in Klingon. “'e' chay'pen Doch toH vItlhap 'oH?”*

Shrugging, Neal replied in the code. “chaH aren't jIHvaD tuH, embarrass lut vIHtaHbogh pe'tlhoS vIghaj je real muSHa'bogh tagha' jIHaghmeH chay'pen 'oH lu'.”**

Pleased, Chuck encouraged the conversation to continue, but looked for something else to do while they talked as the group had grown in numbers and awkwardness was getting the better of them. “Do you play any games?”

Taking advantage of the offered distraction, Peter moved to grab one of a few board games that were around the house. “We have a game called ‘Clue,’ does that work with everybody?”

Since no one voiced any objections, he went to pull the game out and began setting it up.

Picking their pieces, the group divided up around the board and began to play.

For several hours, the group played one game after another and used the games to open up conversation until they were rather relaxed with each other.

Eventually, it came time for dinner, so Peter ordered a couple of pizzas and the play continued.

By the time it was getting late, Isaac and Iris had a comfortable knowledge of their youngest son and his friends. Although Sarah hadn’t fully opened up with them, she had been herself for much of the evening.

When it was time to be getting ready for bed, Sarah and Chuck were bidding the group good night when Chuck made a quick trip to their car. Returning, he passed Neal a familiar bag. “You still keep your stuff in roughly the same places, so I packed you a bag. That way you can crash on the couch and get as much as possible out of the visit.”

Surprised, Neal blinked as he accepted and the others waited to see how he would react. Teasing Chuck, he said. “You dug through my dresser?”

Frowning at him, Chuck reminded him. “I didn’t have to. You still keep your things as neatly as you did when we were roommates so your stuff was easy to find.”

Shaking his head, Neal turned to make sure that it was okay with Peter and Elizabeth. “Are you okay with another guest?”

“Of course” was the expected reply.

*******

*“'e' chay'pen Doch toH vItlhap 'oH?” = I take it that things are going well?

**“chaH aren't jIHvaD tuH, embarrass lut vIHtaHbogh pe'tlhoS vIghaj je real muSHa'bogh tagha' jIHaghmeH chay'pen 'oH lu'.” = They aren't ashamed of me, I have an embarrassing story about Peter, and I have finally met my real parents so it is going well.

The Klingon is according to the Bing translator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite :D
> 
> Sorry to post so late, our trip went later than we had originally planned. The last chapter of this story will be posted next Sunday, and then the following week we will begin the second part of the series called "Family Bonding."


	9. Family Bonding

*******

Waking up in the morning with the knowledge that his parents, brother, and sister in law were all sleeping upstairs was a new experience for Neal. Rolling over on the couch, he decided to enjoy the privacy a little longer before the others came downstairs.

He had a lot to reflect on. The entire afternoon and evening the day before had been spent getting to know his family, gaining some lost ground with his friend and ex-girlfriend, and showing more of himself than he usually did.

Hearing a sound on the stairs, he looked over to see Peter sneaking down.

“Did you sleep well?” Peter asked.

Smiling, Neal wondered what it would have been like if he had grown up with the man. “Have you wondered over the last few days what it would have been like if we had grown up together?” He asked before really thinking about it.

Tilting his head to the side, Peter settled into the chair acrossed from his brother. “Some. I imagine that there are elements of our relationship that would have been the same, only in a kid’s version. Meaning that I would have bossed you around, you would have annoyed me, but if anyone tried to hurt you, they would have had to go through me to do it.”

Grinning, Neal elaborated on his statement. “You would have kicked me out of your room for snooping, I would have retaliated by telling mom on you, but if the neighborhood bully tried to hurt me you would have beat him up… yeah, our current relationship does have its similarities. As my boss, you tell me what to do, but I find little ways to rebel, and when old enemies try to cause trouble you do your best to get me through it.”

“Why would you have been snooping in my room?” Peter questioned curiously.

Shrugging, Neal didn’t exactly have an answer. “I don’t know. They say that the big brother always has the more interesting stuff.”

Snorting, Peter wasn’t sure what to think of that. “And where did you hear that?”

“TV and random conversations over the years… whenever some guy would talk about having an older brother, they always had a story about snooping into their brother’s room for the ‘cool’ stuff.”

“Huh… I don’t know if my stuff is overly ‘cool.’ Mostly, it was just baseball memorabilia, crossword competitions, math, and other basic stuff. Since we don’t have common interests, I don’t see why you would have been snooping around for that stuff.”

With an impish expression, Neal knew that his comment would arouse Peter’s curiosity. “You don’t entirely know me for who I am yet Peter. Maybe I would find some of that stuff interesting. Besides, I have always gotten the impression that it wasn’t so much the stuff that made it interesting, but the fact that it belonged to the older brother that made it important.”

Touched, Peter sat in his chair looking at his brother for a few moments. “So, you would be snooping in my room to see my stuff, simply because it was mine?”

“Based on the stories that I have heard, that is the impression that I get.” Neal confirmed.

“I’ve never thought of that really… I guess, because I am the older one, I always looked at things from the older brother’s perspective.”

“And, how does that look?” Neal asked.

With a smile, Peter fondly remembered some of his childhood thoughts. “Like having someone to play with for one. There were several times growing up that mom and dad were busy, or didn’t want to play the same games, so I wished that I had a little brother who would play them with me.”

“Like what games?” Neal was interested to know. What had his brother played growing up?

“Oh… things like pirates. I would build a fort and call it my ship. Then I would rule the high seas as a Viking while I went about pillaging and plundering.” He laughed. “Mom and dad got annoyed with me one time because I forced them to play with me by stealing some of their things… that was another time that I got into trouble.”

Amused to hear of his brother’s childhood, Neal hoped to be able to share more of his soon.

Nodding, Neal commented on the story. “I can imagine myself building a fort and trying to fend you off, or playing the first mate as we pillaged together.”

Falling into a quiet contemplation, both brothers imagined a lost time where they would alternate from foes to partners searching for adventure.

*******

After a while, the quiet was broken as others began to wake up. Moving to take his turn in the bathroom, Peter started a pot of coffee and went upstairs.

When Elizabeth came downstairs, she noticed that Neal was relaxing on the couch with a peaceful expression on his face. “Did you and Peter have a good talk?”

“Yeah, we talked a little more about what it might have been like if we had grown up together.” Laughing softly, Neal teased. “I knew he had an adventurous side to him.”

“He told you something about Vikings, huh? Those are the most adventurous that he gets besides the FBI.” El mentioned while she started to get things ready for breakfast.

“I thought that taking me on as his CI was the most adventurous that he got?” Neal asked with a humorous glint to his eyes.

Hugging him, Elizabeth expressed some of how glad she was to have him as her brother. “And we are all lucky for that.”

Relaxing further, Neal knew more of how Elizabeth felt. They hadn’t had a chance to really talk alone with everything that had been going on. “You’re not mad to have me as your brother in law?” He wanted to clarify exactly where he stood with her.

Turning to look him in the eyes, Elizabeth gave him her honest opinion. “I admit that I wasn’t certain at first. What if you committed a crime again or something? Peter would have been devastated if that had happened with you as his friend, how bad would it be with you as his brother? Then I learned that you are government undercover, talked to Sarah, and have had some time to adjust to the news. Really, I am glad that you are my brother in law and look forward to getting to know who you actually are.”

Pulling her into a hug, Neal held her for a moment. “Thank you El. You have no idea how much it means for me to hear that.”

“You’re welcome Neal.”

As he pulled away from the hug, Neal kissed her on the side of her head. “You are a great big sister.”

With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth returned the compliment. “You are a great little brother.” She was saddened to see how much that made him smile and promised to remind him of his position as often as possible.

*******

It didn’t take too long for the family to assemble and sit down to eat. As they worked their way through the meal, they started a discussion about ways to get together in the future.

“I don’t know how much of my true position will be revealed or what is going to come with my role, but I can definitely do things here in the city.” Then he cautiously broached a subject that he hadn’t voiced before. “Eventually, I would like to visit you up North…”

Delighted, Iris and Isaac loved the idea. “Is that something that you can help with Peter?” They directed their question to him to see if there was anything that he could do with Neal’s character.

Contemplating the idea, he didn’t have a sure answer. “I can check it out and see what can be done.”

Turning to Neal, they asked him. “Is there anything that your bosses can do?”

“I don’t know entirely either. My bosses could, but will they is the question.” Neal didn’t have an answer.

 

“Well, that is something to hope for and look forward to.” Isaac said as that part of the conversation ended.

Moving on to other similar topics, the group moved on to exchanging contact information. Mostly that was Neal switching with his parents, but the others moved to get more of his information since he was sharing it anyway.

Once they were ensured continued contact, they started looking for the next topic of conversation.

“Where is your friend Chuck and his wife?” Iris asked. She had enjoyed getting to know her son’s friends the day before, so she noted their absence.

“Pulling off the stalking from the car thing again. They want us to have some time together alone, but they are assigned to be close, so this is their compromise.” Neal explained.

“You should tell them to at least come inside, it would be more comfortable than sitting in a car.” Iris ordered.

“It’s okay mom. I already offered and they insisted. Besides, stalking people from a vehicle is a lot of what being an agent is about… it’s called a stakeout.” He got slight hint of smart alec to his tone as he teased.

Oblivious to a tone that she otherwise wouldn’t have allowed, Iris was too thrilled to hear Neal refer to her as mom for the first time.

“What?” Neal hadn’t even noticed. She was more of a mom to him than his adopted mom had been, and she was actually his biological mom, so the term fit.

“You called me mom.” Iris explained through her tears.

Feeling a little awkward to have it pointed out, Neal waffled a little bit as he tried to explain.

Interpreting what he was trying to say, Peter translated. “His adopted mom had a lot of depression when he was growing up and you are his biological mom, so it just slipped out there without him noticing.”

Smiling as the tears got thicker, Iris was even happier. “That is all the better.” It meant that Neal wasn’t forcing it, that he had meant it when he called her mom.

Moving to clear the table, the family repeated their actions of the night before to have the leftovers put away and the dishes washed. Then they moved back to the living room for their last little while of conversation.

Eventually, the clock dictated the time so the group split up. The elder Burkes went upstairs to finish packing and the younger Burkes moved to begin preparations for lunch.

Once the luggage was lined up by the door, Peter insisted on helping them haul it out to their car like he usually did. When he came back, he had been given the box of cards and letters for Neal to go through.

“Here is that box that I told you about Neal. You don’t have to go through it all today, but these are for you to read as you’re ready.” Peter sat it down in the living room where it was handy, but not in the way. He figured that Neal could go through it at his place, or it could be transferred to Neal’s if he preferred.

Eying it with mixed emotions, Neal knew that he wasn’t ready for it yet, but he was glad to know that it existed. “I’ll figure out where I feel more comfortable to read them later.”

Patting him on the shoulder, Peter reassured him. “There isn’t a rush Neal. Read them when you’re ready, wherever you feel the most comfortable.”

Walking in slightly behind, the elder Burkes had timed it out as Neal felt more comfortable with Peter. Still, they had two more things that they wanted to give Neal in person.

“This is your baby book that we made for you. When you were adopted, we stored it away to remember you by, but we tried to keep it from Peter as we weren’t sure if he would ever get to meet you.” Iris handed him the book that detailed how excited she was to learn that he was expected, Isaac’s excitement to have another child on the way, her illness that nearly killed them both, and their grief at having to give him up. It was going to be another emotional ride that Neal wasn’t entire ready for yet.

Then Isaac proffered his gift. “This is the letter that explains why we had to give you up for adoption and how sorry we were that we weren’t going to get to raise you ourselves. We know that this is a lot for you to take in, so read them whenever you are ready. These have been gathering dust in our attic for years in the hope that maybe one day, if we were very blessed, we just might get the chance to give them to you. Now that we have, we are more interested in going into the future where we can have a relationship with you. You probably have a lot of questions, so feel free to call us at any hour, we will be happy to answer anything.” He had tears in his eyes again as he gave his speech. It was something that had played through his mind for years, so it was emotional to finally say it to his son.

“Thanks.” Neal was trying not to have tears in his eyes as well, but there was a shine that betrayed him. “After growing up with family that betrayed me, was lost in depression, or couldn’t always be there for me, this is a huge difference… but a very good difference.”

Settling their emotions aside again, they tried to regain some composure by distracting themselves with lunch. As they ate, they picked up lighter conversation of their everyday lives and passed a pleasant time before it was time to go.

Slowly walking to the door, the five of them moved as a group reluctant to let go of their time together. Still, the distance was covered, so they continued out towards the car. Once they had reached the vehicle, there wasn’t any more delay to be had, so they said their goodbyes and promised to get together again soon.

Waving their parents off into the city traffic, the three younger Burkes stood there for a few moments as they watched the car disappear.

Slinging an arm acrossed Neal’s shoulders, Peter pulled him into a sideways hug. “That was a nice weekend, wasn’t it?”

Smiling softly, Neal had enjoyed it immensely, despite the awkward moments. “It was. I have never experienced having a family like this before.”

Tearing up a little again, Peter and Elizabeth sandwiched him in between them.

“Well, you aren’t getting rid of us so easily, so you had better get used to it.” Peter stated.

“I can deal with that.” Neal smiled.

“What do you say we watch a movie for a while?” Elizabeth suggested.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Neal asked. He was game for extending the weekend for a few more hours before he would have to go home.

“Your pick. Let’s see what movies you like to watch.” Elizabeth suggested.

Grinning, Neal hinted. “You might not like my actual taste so well once you get to know me.” He was back to being playful.

“As long as it isn’t something Sci-Fi.” Elizabeth threw out there.

“I guess that reveal will have to be for another day then.” Neal teased.

“What does that mean?” Elizabeth asked.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Neal refused to answer.

Curling up on the couch with some popcorn, the group settled in to enjoy a light comedy to ease up some of the deeper emotions that they had been dealing with all weekend (ever since the attacks really). For the first time in weeks, it was a pleasant time for them to relax and let tomorrow worry about its self. In the meanwhile, they still had a few precious hours of the weekend left to while away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, and choosing to follow :D
> 
> Okay everybody, this is the last chapter to part one. Next week we will begin "Family Bonding" where the family continues to deepen those bonds as well as wrap up the case through some scary situations...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting/PMing, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite both me and my stories :D
> 
> Per request, the Family series is my next run at posting. As you may have noticed, it is the other brothers story that I have worked on for over a year, so I hope you all are ready to curl up and enjoy the ride with the new found brothers Peter and Neal as they go through fluffy bonding to hair raising angst :D
> 
> Oh, and just to let you know, I had an interview this week and got another part time job. That means that I work two scheduled jobs and a third entrepreneurial position from home. My enormous buffer will help to keep my posting steady and I do still have writing time, but that is going to be more limited now.


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